Greekgasm: Lamb Sliders on Pita with an Apricot-Onion Relish

This last Sunday we had the rare treat to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. It felt like a vacation - especially with the weather jumping to the 70s - so we decided to end the day with a Greek-inspired meal. This dinner materialized partly due to our passionate love for sweet potato fries, and partly from another round of "Let's Play...Clean Out the Fridge!"

We got turned onto the fries after becoming regulars at Circa, a local West Seattle favorite. Since we can't afford to eat there every day, we settle for a good compromise from the frozen section at PCC. We seem to buy these suckers on a weekly basis (hey, they're the "healthy" fries, right?) and pair them with a little ramekin of Melinda's Habañero Ketchup and Toby's Ranch. They are bar none our favorite side dish.

Circa also serves up a mean lamb burger so we were inspired to create our own slider version on pita bread. What started as a summer-time classic became a grand slam with the combination of homemade apricot-onion relish and crisp cucumbers as toppings and shallots, Valbreso feta, and fresh mint folded into the lamb patties. Prepare to be overwhelmed.

Ingredients: 3/4 lb. ground lamb (for four pretty big sliders) 2 tbsp. Fresh mint, chopped 1/2 shallot, minced 1 yellow onion, sliced 1/4 cup apricot preserves 1/2 cup of white wine Pita bread, cut into quarters or slider-sized pieces (substitute slider buns or rolls) A few thin slices of English cucumber Valbreso Feta cheese (substitute sheep's milk feta) Salt and pepper to taste

Make the patties by gently folding together the ground lamb with the shallot, mint, a pinch of salt, and pepper until mostly incorporated together. Crumble enough feta into the bowl to ensure there are a couple of small pieces in each bite (it's really a judgment/preference thing, but we've never 'overdone it' on the feta) and carefully fold into the lamb. Form small, plump patties that match the size of your pita slices or buns. Place in the refrigerator to chill.

Caramelize the onion slices in butter and olive oil in a cast-iron skillet until golden. It's critical to fully carmelize the onions, so this step can take 30 minutes to over an hour. Take your time, go slow, and add water as needed if they begin to dry out. Once caramelized, add the white wine and apricot preserves, plus salt and pepper to taste and reduce at a moderate simmer until you achieve a thick relish texture. How far you take the relish is also a matter of preference - it's the only real condiment on the slider, so we prefer ours to maintain a decent amount of moisture, but don't want it to pour off the sides.

While the relish is reducing, heat up your grill. We prefer to grill our sliders at pretty high heat - 550-650 degrees on our Weber gas grill - because we prefer to serve them medium, but with a nice char on the outside (charred lamb fat = ❤️). Grill the sliders until medium, then remove to a platter and cover with foil to rest. While the sliders are resting, quickly grill the pita or buns right on the char-spots on the grill where you cooked the sliders.

Build the sliders on the pita/buns, topping them with the apricot relish and cucumbers, and serve with a heaping pile of sweet potato fries. Opa!