Lamb Burgers

All it takes to send Melburnians scuttling out of the hermetically-sealed capsules that are their homes in winter is an hour or two of warm(ish) sunshine. And so it was today, when the sun appeared, originally sporadically, but later for a glorious few hours in the afternoon, and I had my first whiff of spring.  Naturally my mind turned to barbecueing.  I don’t eat a lot of lamb, but from time to time, I enjoy these burgers especially as they are made with other Greek flavours – lemon and rosemary.

As well as having these as a traditional burger, I like to have them with cous cous, my roast vegetables - http://theabbotsfordkitchen.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/roast-vegetable-medley/ and  my yoghurt mint dressing, recipe below.

Serves 4 adults

• 400 grams organic, biodynamic or grain/grass fed lamb mince
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• zest of 1 lemon
• handful of finely chopped fresh rosemary
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 4 x wholemeal soft rolls
• shredded lettuce
• sliced tomatoes
• sliced cucumber
• My minty yoghurt dressing: http://theabbotsfordkitchen.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/minty-yoghurt-dressing/
• My caramelised onions: http://theabbotsfordkitchen.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/caramelised-onions/

Put the lamb mince, garlic, lemon rosemary, a dash of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork or very clean hands to combine.  Roll out four largeish burgers with wet hands, or if you’re making these for something else you can roll out a larger quantity of smaller balls.

Cook burgers on a medium-hot barbecue for about 5 minutes each side and drizzle a little of the lemon that was left over after zesting when they are cooked.

Slice the buns in half, place lettuce, tomato and cucumber on one side, a burger (sliced in half if they are not wide enough to fit properly on the bun), and top with caramelised onions and a drizzle of the yoghurt dressing.

Serve with a glass of red, or some ouzo if you have the constitution!

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