My kids went crazy for these–they begged to have them on a bun in their lunch after having had them for dinner. The next day for grown-up lunch, we de-carbed them and ate these scrumptious little lamb burgers with a side of greens and a dollop of yogurt sauce. It felt warm and hearty, like we were eating a burger, only without the heaviness. As far as the flavor goes, the key is the cumin/onion/parsley holy trinity. I only used a tiny bit of paprika, which I don’t think we would have missed for those whose kids don’t like any heat. The recipe comes from Victoria Granof from Cookie (sigh). We made slight tweaks, like we didn’t grate, we finely chopped, the onions, and we didn’t strain them. Also, I didn’t grill as it was snowing and I didn’t have access to my grill, and I made them into straight up patties because my kids wanted them on buns.
1 pound ground lamb
2 heaping tablespoons dry bulgur, soaked in 1 cup water until soft (about 30 minutes), then drained
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, grated and drained
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1. Mix together everything but the oil with your hands. Form the mixture into ovals about the size and thickness of small hamburger patties.
2. Put the meat on skewers (as shown) and brush it with the oil. Grill/broil OR PAN FRY the patties for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side.
3. Serve with the dipping sauce (greek yogurt with a little chopped cucumber, parsley, salt, cumin and a squeeze of lemon.