Save time by roasting the sweet potato ahead of time—it will keep in the fridge for up to three days in an airtight container. After that step, you can whip up these Greek-inspired, produce-packed salads on even the busiest nights of the week. Just 8 ounces of ground lamb gets stretched into eight flavorful patties.
Staff favorite
- 1 medium sweet potato
- Cucumber Yogurt Sauce (see recipe to the right)
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
- 1 red onion ½ chopped, ½ sliced very thin; divided
- 8 ounces ground lamb
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 ounces baby spinach
- ½ cup pitted and halved kalamata olives
- 2 whole-wheat pitas cut into wedges
- To roast the sweet potato, wash and poke a few holes into a medium sweet potato with a paring knife. Roast at 400° directly on oven rack for 45–60 minutes or until very soft. Let cool, discard the skin, and cut potato flesh into pieces.
- Meanwhile, prepare the Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, reserving remaining cucumber, and set aside. Cut remaining cucumber into half-moon slices.
- In the bowl of a food processor, place garlic, parsley and chopped red onion. Process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add lamb, cooked sweet potato pieces, cornmeal, egg, cumin, oregano, salt, chili powder and pepper, and process until combined. Use ¼-cup measure to portion out burgers; flatten each round slightly, and place onto a plate.
- In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Cook burgers for 12–14 minutes, flipping them one time, or until browned and cooked through. Serve burgers over baby spinach with olives, reserved thin-sliced red onion, reserved cucumber slices, pita wedges and Cucumber Yogurt Sauce.
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
To the bowl of a food processor, add 1 cup plain Greek or regular whole-milk yogurt, ½ cup sliced medium cucumber (reserve remainder for salads), ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese, 1 tablespoon olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon. Purée until combined but still chunky. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
PER SERVING (2 cups salad, 2 patties and ½ pita): 481 cal, 21g fat (10g mono, 2g poly, 9g sat), 103mg chol, 727mg sodium, 45g carb (7g fiber, 11g sugars), 23g protein
