Go ahead; take a bite on the wild slide.
Bringing the world to an iddy-biddy bun, “sliders” are savvy little burgers piled high with a spice-of-life variety of toppings, handcrafted chutneys and vinaigrettes. Petite patties that celebrate all things ground-meaty from Mexico to Morocco, Greece to the grill next door.
Even better? They offer a bite or two of burger bliss without blowing your diet—and you can play the field, nibbling no-more-than-a-mouthful of classic American cheeseburger, a bite of bacon-bleu, before ending the night with a sweet, hot kiss of curry, perhaps an afterglow of well-paired wines or martinis.
Longing for light, warm, summer evenings, the divas dreamed a lean n’ gorgeous, Greek-inspired slider using ground chicken breast. To keep things juicy, we massaged the burgers with a lemony, mustard-garlic sauce infused with fruity kalamata extra-virgin olive oil. Topped with thinly sliced Roma tomatoes, seedless cukes, red onion and savory, kicked-up yogurt, our sliders rock on a soft, warm roll. Or you could skip the carbs altogether and serve on crisply cool, lettuce-be-skinny leaves of romaine.
Greek Chicken Sliders
(Makes 8 sliders or 4 burgers)
For the sliders:
1 pound ground chicken breast
Coarse salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon minced fresh mint
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup crumbled feta
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Coarse salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
5 tablespoons Kalamata extra-virgin olive oil
For the “mayo:”
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons sauce (preceding recipe)
6 pepperoncini peppers, chopped
To serve:
8 potato rolls
Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
Seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
Red onion, thinly sliced
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, salt, pepper, rosemary, mint, oregano and feta cheese. Divide the chicken into 8 equal portions, forming each into 1-inch thick patty.
For the sauce, combine mustard, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper and oregano in a small bowl; whisk in the olive oil until well blended. Reserve 2 tablespoons for the “mayo” recipe.
Over medium-high heat, oil the grill or grill pan. Brush each patty with the mustard sauce, placing sauce side down to cook, then brushing the other side. Grill about 4 minutes per side.
While patties are cooking, make the “mayo” by combining the yogurt, reserved mustard sauce and chopped peppers. Stir to combine. Serve sliders on warm potato rolls with “mayo” and garnishes.
Diva note: Substitute the Kalamata olive oil with any best-quality extra-virgin olive oil. Mayonnaise can be substituted for Greek yogurt.
