I’ve been to visit Mike at work at the Pentagon a couple times now.
As cool as it is to get a private tour of the DOD’s HQ from my hubby, my favorite part is always lunch.
There’s this place that has what I think might be my favorite gyro salad ever. Double meat, triple onion, and lots of tzatziki is just how I like it, and the lady making my salad never as much as bats an eye when I order. Either she’s just a really patient person or I’m the least of the freakishly strange orders she gets.
I found myself craving that salad the other day, and my Greek Salad Bowls with Spiced Lamb Burgers happened. These salad bowls are full of bold flavors and different textures to keep it exciting. The lamb burgers are a wink and a nod to gyros, but if lamb isn’t your thing, ground beef will work fine too. The dressing I use is yogurt-based but different from tzatziki sauce; go with tzatziki if you want, or just do a lemon juice/olive oil mix to keep it simple.
You can add a grain to the bowl if you like (brown rice or quinoa would be yummy), but I kept it low-carb with just the veggies. For a paleo version, omit the feta and yogurt-based dressing and use your favorite paleo salad dressing (or oil/vinegar combo) instead.
- 1½ lbs (680 g) ground lamb
- 1 small onion, peeled and grated
- ½ cup minced fresh parsley leaves
- 1 large clove garlic, crushed or grated
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup (227 g) plain, low-fat yogurt (not Greek-style yogurt)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or more to taste if you like it tangy)
- 1 large clove garlic, crushed or grated
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 cups spring mix (or chopped Romaine)
- 1 English cucumber, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup kalamata olives
- ½ cup (60 g) crumbled feta
- For the burgers, use your hands to combine all ingredients in a large bowl, being careful not to over-mix. Divide the meat into 4 portions and shape each into a patty. Grill, bake, or fry until fully cooked; cool 10 minutes and then thinly slice.
- Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing and refrigerate until using.
- To serve, divide the spring mix between 4 bowls. Arrange the cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, red onion, olives, feta, and sliced burgers on top of the spring mix. Drizzle the dressing on top and serve.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Yum! I recently learned to like lamb, and this looks like a great way to use it. I love the dish you have the dressing in–is that a mini tagine?
Becky, Thanks! It’s such a cute little dish, isn’t it? Yup, it’s made to look like a tagine – it’s not functional for that, but it does make a cute condiment dish. :)
Extremely scrumptious and wonderfully summery!
Cheers,
Rosa
This looks like such a tasty salad. Perfect for those hot summer days. The spiced lamb sounds like a perfect compliment to the greens. Yum!
Now I am craving this salad for lunch. We had a Greek restaurant that made a salad just like this but it went out of business. Now I can make my own with your recipe. Yeah! Happy Days.
A private tour? That’s awesome! But I agree that this salad would steal the show. I wish I was having it for lunch!
A Pentagon Tour?? YES, girrrrl! This amazingness for lunch?!? YUSSSSS!
The perfect salad!
Love the sound of using a burger in a salad like this!
When I saw this on IG, I seriously started drooling. I have to make a batch of these burgers and have this for lunch for the next five days.
Looks great, Faith!
Thanks!
Faith, these Greek salad bowls look absolutely wonderful! My husband and I love lamb – we buy it in large, boneless legs and grind it ourselves. Can’t wait to try this!
I love a good Greek salad, these bowls look so tasty!
I’ve been getting so inspired by salad bowls lately also. Coincidentally, a current favorite of mine is falafel with exactly these salad ingredients! I need to try that yogurt dressing also..totally my kind of thing.