One of my favorite meals, as well as that of many discerning palates that have joined my dinner table, is minted lamb burgers, with a grilled eggplant and tomato feta salad.  I am always pleased when my guests are delighted by the food put before them, but was particularly thrilled when, a friend who is a top chef in the area, fell slave to the enchanting flavors put before him.

I serve this meal often for many reasons, it has a wonderfully rustic quality, it is visually appealing, it can be prepped in advance, I don't have to do anything a la minute, and you can't really mess it up!

Recipe

Burger

1 ½ lbs. of ground lamb

Half of a sweet onion diced)

1-2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

2 T chopped mint (chopped)

¼ cup crumbled feta, I prefer the Israeli feta, which is creamier with a more robust flavor

Salad

2-3 eggplants (sliced lengthwise, in ½ inch slices)

1 sweet onion (sliced in ½ inch slices)

15-20 cherry tomatoes (halved)

Mint (chopped)

Alfonso olives (quartered)

¼ cup crumbled feta

Combine the first 5 ingredients, and form into burgers, yielding 4 burgers and refrigerate.  This may be done 2-3 hours prior to your guests arriving.

Lightly oil slices of onion, and eggplant.  The onion may be grilled in advance.  When the onion is nicely browned on both sides (the outside pieces may be charred, but still tasty), grill the eggplant.  The eggplant is done when there are distinct grill marks on both sides, and the flesh is tender.  At this point I usually place the cooked eggplant in a warm oven, while grilling the burgers.

As the burgers grill, course chop the grilled onions, and combine with the cherry tomatoes, Alfonso olives, chopped mint and feta.  Add a bit of extra virgin olive oil to moisten the mixture, season with salt and pepper.

When the burgers are done, I would cook them to medium-medium rare...don't over cook.  Place the eggplant on a serving dish and distribute the tomato salad over the top of the eggplant. Place a burger on each plate, and serve the salad family style at the table.

Serve a bit of crust bread, so your guests can mop up all the tasty morsels from their plates.