Leftovers make tasty Spinach and Feta Burgers
Leftovers! Some folks love them, others happily scrape them into the trash. Me, I’m on the love team. Leftovers speak to me. I’d always rather start a meal with a fridge full of tasty bits of this and that than have to confront a blank canvas of raw ingredients. This recipe tackles one particular challenge: how to repurpose leftover cooked chops, steaks, or roasts.
The answer? Turn them into burgers. “Wait a minute,” you say. “They’ve already been cooked once. Won’t they be dry as dust if you turn them into burgers and cook them again?” Nope, not if you combine the leftover meat with some moist ingredients, such as the spinach and feta cheese listed here.
For Spinach and Feta Burgers with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, start with 12 ounces of cooked meat — pork, beef or lamb — trimmed of excess fat and any sinew. Cut the meat into cubes roughly 1 inch per side, then pulse in a food processor to chop it to burger consistency. (Be careful not to leave your finger on the pulse button for too long; you don’t want to end up with baby food.) Add the
moist ingredients, along with an egg and a bit of panko to bind it all up. If you’re no fan of spinach and feta, you can substitute other cooked (and finely chopped) vegetables and/or cheese.
If you have time, make the burgers early in the day and chill them for a few hours before cooking. This will help them to hold their shape. If you don’t have the time, don’t worry. Just take care to turn them gently as they cook.
One last note: The sauce is a wonderful complement, but you’re welcome to lose it if it doesn’t appeal to you. The burgers are plenty tasty without it.
This recipe’s true miracle is transforming a mere 12 ounces of meat into six full dinner portions, allowing you to save money as well as food. And the new dish is so different from the original that no one will pipe up to say, “What, leftovers again!?”