March in the Kitchen – Lamb Burgers for St. Patrick’s Day

I’ve been working on this recipe for a few weeks, I think I’ve got it! And just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Ground lamb can be a tough one to get right. It’s most often too “lamb-ey”, even though I like lamb. I wanted a moist and tender lamb burger with a more subtle taste. A post with a recipe for chicken meatballs on the blog “The Frugal Hausfrau” gave me an idea. What if I took her idea and adapted it to my lamb burgers? She used ricotta in the mix to lighten things up and keep the meat moist. I had tried feta, it didn’t do the trick. But ricotta….hmmm.

Tender Lamb Burgers

• 1 1/4 lbs. of ground lamb
• 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon of Ras el Hanout (paprika, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, grains of paradise, allspice, nutmeg, mace, cayenne from the Oaktown Spice Shop)
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/4 cup of chutney (any kind), chopped if large pieces
• 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, lightly whipped
• squeezed juice of 1 lemon
• Kosher or sea salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• Olive oil for frying

1. Mix the seasonings (everything but the lamb) with the ricotta.
2. Add the ground lamb to the seasoned ricotta and gently mix everything together.
3. Form into patties of your desired size (I made 5 generous ones).
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
5. Preheat a large skillet on medium high, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan
6. Fry the patties until done to your liking, for me that was about 4 minutes to a side.

Serve with in a roll with humus, cucumber, sliced red pepper, avocado, thinly sliced onion and parsley.

Or with sauteed greens or other veggies.

They turned out to be what I was looking for.

I’m going to take these to Fiesta Friday #59 to share with Angie and the gang at the Novice Gardener. Friday goes with burgers. Please come and check out the rest of the party.

These could also be made into meatballs and browned in a skillet or the oven. Because of the chutney and bit of sugar they brown up beautifully.