Pumpkin Spice Lamb Burgers

[Pumpkin Spice Burgers in Pita with Extra Thick Tzatziki and Fresh Garden Cucumbers]

Labour day Monday, the last last long weekend of summer. 
Tonight's dinner paid homage to the end of barbecue season with a twist on the classic burger.  Pumpkin spice lamb burgers in pita was borrowed from License to Grill with Rob Rainford:

Pumpkin Spice Lamb Burgers

1 1/2 lb. ground lamb sausage, squeezed from casings
1 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cayenne

Burger Topping

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup diced plum tomatoes
1/2 cup chives
1 cup Tzatziki
4 x 6 pita breads, cut in 1/4 of each pita

Combine ingredients, and mix well.  Using moistened hands, form lamb burgers (4 patties).  Cover and place in fridge to marinade overnight.

Preheat grill to 325 degrees F.  Grill burgers until desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side.

Burger Topping

Mix tomatoes with chopped chives and balsamic vinegar.

Serve lamb burgers in pita, with Tzatziki and diced tomato.

This recipe features a unique blend of spices including cloves and cayenne.  I purchased some Merguez lamb sausage from the butcher shop as this North African specialty tends to be spicy, a good pairing with the bite from the cayenne.  I did not make my own Tzatziki but rather bought the extra thick dip already made (yeah, I cheated slightly). 

This dish borrows from many cultures including Greek, Indian and North African.  The meal was served simply with fresh garden cucumbers letting the unmistakable taste of barbecue do the rest.

The Barbecue

Comments

[Joe @ Culinary in the Desert]

Great looking food! I've never gooded with lamb and am on the lookout for recipes to try - this sounds good!

[farmgirl]

Hello!
Well, it was perfect timing that I landed here for the first time tonight. I raise lamb, love lamb burgers, and spent half the day working on my recipe for pita breads because I posted a picture of them the other day, promising the recipe would be up soon! So here I am, digesting alllll the warm samples I inhaled, poking around new blogs, and trying to forget the fact that I still need to work on the recipe some more tomorrow. Found you on Pumpkin Pie Bungalow's Blog Day list. Looking forward to reading more of your posts! : )