lambburglar

Bon Appetit's July issue featured inspired new burger recipes and a mouthwatering cover. I read it cover to cover on my morning commute the day after it arrived and then filed it away. After mopping my floors and doing too many loads of laundry on Sunday, I felt like eating a burger. I didn't want to make the same boring turkey burger with muenster and mushrooms and I had ground lamb from the market. I found myself too lazy to climb the kitchen footstool to look up the recipe. Despite already being at my computer checking email and catching up on podcasts, I didn't really feel like looking up the recipe online either. I decided to wing it. What came together ended up being a combination of the Moroccan Spiced Lamb Burger from BA July 2006, the Minted Lamb Burgers from BA February 2006 and my own turkey burger recipe. I used bulgur wheat instead of breadcrumbs because that's what I had in the cabinet.


Lamb Burgers
1/3 cup bulgur wheat prepared with chicken broth
1 large shallot minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
a few pinches of cayenne
10 - 15 mint leaves finely chopped*
6 oz. finely crumbled feta cheese
1 egg
Kosher salt & coarse ground pepper
1 1/2 lbs. ground lamb (I added 1/2 lb. ground pork)

Prepare bulgur wheat according to package instructions. Mix ingredients 1 - 10 in large mixing bowl, add lamb to bowl and mix to incorporate, taking care not to over mix. Divide into patties sized according to your appetite, but no more than 1 inch thick. Cook in pan over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare to medium. Grill if you are so inclined.

We ate them tucked into pita pockets with veggie hummus. On the side: a spinach salad with lemon cucumbers**, red peppers and more feta and some Israeli cous cous with raisins***.

*Chiffonade is the fanciest sounding, but easiest way to prepare big leafy herbs like mint and basil. Just stack all of the leaves, roll them up tightly and slice through to make thin ribbons.

**Lemon Cucumbers are bumpy, yellow, and shaped like lemons. They are a slightly crunchier variety than your everyday cuke, but really just have more seeds and are harder to peel.


***The store I lazily stopped into only had regular raisins which resembled some sort of rodent dropping when cooked into the light hued cous cous, so I suggest golden raisins to avoid dinner table potty humor.