Back when I was a teenager, I spent a summer in Greece as part of the American Field Service program. I discovered such foods as Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie), goats’ milk, fresh figs, phyllo dough and baklava and came home 10 pounds heavier.
One item I never tasted during my stays in Athens,
Salonica and Crete was a Kalamata olive.
These traditional black-ish purple Greek olives are an excellent
addition to salads, stews, pizza topping and lamb burgers (my personal favorite).
Usually bottled and stored in brine and
olive oil, Kalamata olives may need to be pitted. They are salty and thus salt should be used
sparingly.
Whenever I bite into one of these olives, I immediately
think of my Greek summer.
Greek Lamb Burgers – serves 4 (adapted from “Faster! I’m Starving!”)
6 Kalamata olives
1 pound ground lamb
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 hamburger buns or eight mini-buns
Preheat the broiler. Make sure the top oven rack is 5-or-6 inches under the broiling unit. For easy clean-up, line the broiling pan with aluminum foil. Place the broiling pan rack on top of the foil and set aside. Or heat up your gas grill.
Cut each olive into 6-8 pieces and discard any pits.
Put the olive pieces, lamb, mustard, garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper into a medium bowl and mix well. Shape into 4 large flat patties or 8 smaller patties.
When the broiler or grill is ready, cook the lamb burgers
about 3 minutes per side, or until they begin to brown. They can be a little pink in the middle. While the patties are cooking, put the buns
onto a baking sheet and set on a lower shelf of the oven to warm. Serve immediately.
For easy-to-make recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"
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