It’s funny where recipe inspiration strikes and this one struck in the bath of all places! I’ve been on the fence about lamb for a long time – it’s probably the most expensive meat by weight and yet it almost always seems lacking in flavour, tough and out of kilter on the meat-to-fat/gristle ratio.
Having said all that, I do love a burger (another piece of the “why am I fat?” puzzle falls into place). But I wanted my first burger recipe on the Dizzy Dieter to be something a bit special and different. Lamb suggested itself with mint following as a fairly obvious next step and the roasted red pepper was the inspiration that struck in the bath to put the icing on the…burger.
I’ve been experimenting with roasted pepper for a while – some ideas haven’t worked but some are still in the pipeline so stay tuned. During the roasting process the flavour of the pepper changes so much and you get a delicious sweet dark flavour which complements so many other things and I’m really enjoying experimenting with it and sharing any successes with you as and when they happen.
So, what are these burgers like? Well, dare I say, they are delicious. The lamb is complemented by the mint and red pepper giving a fragrant and meaty burger which is a yummy alternative to your standard beef burgers. I haven’t tried it yet but when the weather permits I’m quite excited about the prospect of cooking these bad boys on the barbie!
We had to get a shopping delivery a couple of weeks ago instead of actually going shopping. The bright side of paying more for it than where we would normally go is that this particular supermarket does these rather large salt and pepper rolls and they are just the best rolls in the world – so I ordered several packs to have in the freezer. I decided they would go rather well with the lamb burgers but unfortunately when making the lamb patties for the first time, I made a slight size miscalculation and the massive rolls rather dwarfed the burgers – oops!
Luna decided that after the roll mishap, I needed some kitty supervision making the burgers the next time – particularly around the area of what seasoning they would need. We have a 2-layer lazy Susan turntable in the kitchen that has all our spices and dried herbs on in little airtight Mason jars and she’s completely obsessed with it – must be all those lovely aromas because she just loves nosing at it!
Back to the burgers – the lamb mix is quite sticky and it may be that a burger press patty maker would be helpful. We quite like the rustic look of the handmade burgers but if you prefer a more uniform shape, it might be something worth looking into. I am thinking of investing in one anyway sometime soon for future burger recipes.
Please do let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments or by using the Contact Me form, and feel free to tag me in your social media posts – I would love to see your burgers! Enjoy DDx!
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Lamb, Roasted Red Pepper and Mint Burgers
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Delicious, meaty and aromatic – lamb burgers with fresh mint and roasted red pepper!
Ingredients
For the burgers:
- 500 g lamb mince
- 10 g fresh parsley (a small bunch)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
- 6 fresh mint leaves
- 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped up
- 1 red pepper, halved and deseeded
- 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
For serving and cooking:
- Olive oil
- 4 burger baps (we like tiger rolls)
- Salt and pepper
- Salad
- Mayonnaise
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to high. Line a tray with baking paper and put the pepper halves on it – cut side down.
- Put under the grill and cook until blackened and shrivelled (about 20 minutes). Remove and leave to cool.
- Peel the charred skin off the pepper and roughly chop up the flesh.
- Put the burger ingredients into the food processor.
- Add the cumin, parsley and some seasoning and blitz until combined – you may need to scrape down the sides of the jug with a spatula occasionally and continue blitzing.
- Form the lamb mix into 4 patties and place on a plate or chopping board.
- Chill for 30 minutes if you have time.
- Drizzle a little olive oil into a large frying pan or griddle pan and place over a medium heat.
- Use a fish slice or spatula to carefully slide the burger patties into the hot oil. Fry until cooked through, turning periodically.
- Dress the buns with mayonnaise, salad etc as you like.
- Check the burgers are cooked through and then put burger on each bun to serve.
Notes
- This is quite a sticky mix so it helps to chill the burgers for at least 30 minutes if you have time
- For the same reason, it is helpful to use a spatula or fish slice to slide the burgers into the pan to cook.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Per serving
- Calories: 603.49kcal
