Burgers, Vegetarian and Lamb

We’re a funny couple.  One of us could eat a juicy sirloin burger (although let’s be real — could eat any kind of burger) every day of his life and the other is exceptionally picky about what types of veggie burgers a) taste good and b) don’t make her sick.

For the longest time A would only eat the veggie burgers her Grandma Joan would buy from the local “Meateria” (that’s its real name) while Z, on the other hand, sought every opportunity to order a burger, and was more often than not satisfied with the choice.

Since then A has become more open to the world of Veggie Burgers and Z, well… he’s just as happy for anyn excuse to order the standard meat variety.

The choice for lamb, below, came after a phone call with the CK and CQ.  They had just made this and reported that it was a big hit.  The vegetarian recipe was adapted from The Joy of Cooking in an effort to more closely resemble the meat, and boy were they both darn good.

Lamb Burgers

(Sent to us modified by the CQ, originally from Bon Apetit)

Makes 12 patties**

 

1 ½ lb ground lamb

2 large garlic cloves, pressed

1 ½ tsp Kosher salt

⅓ c. Feta Cheese

1 tbl finely chopped fresh mint

1 tbl extra virgin olive oil

½ onion diced

Preheat the oven to 250°.  Place the lamb in a large bowl and set aside.  Sautee the onion with the garlic until they are softened.  Allow them to cool and then add to the lamb.  Add the salt to the lamb, garlic, and onion mixture and combine gently.

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Combine the feta and mint in a small bowl and set aside.

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Divide lamb into 12 equal balls.  Then divide the feta and mint mixture the same way.

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Take a lamb ball and use your thumb to poke a hole in the center of it.  Take one of feta balls and fit it into the lamb.  The pinch the hole closed and flatten into a ½ in thick patty.  Repeat.

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Apparently, these can be made up to one day ahead and if that was your plan you would stop here and cover the patties and chill them.

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat.  Cook lamb patties until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side for medium.  Transfer to a prepared baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm.  Serve hot.

**There’s nothing that we would change about this recipe, we particularly loved the CQ’s addition of the onions!  The only thing we would do differently is to make 6 burgers instead of 12 next time.

 

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

(Adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

Makes 8-10 burgers

1 c chopped onions

4 garlic cloves

1/2 c grated carrots

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 15 oz. cans chickpeas

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp minced mint

1 1/2 c cooked brown rice

1 c chopped mushrooms

1/2 c feta cheese

1/4 tsp salt

 

Make the brown rice.

Chop the onions, press the garlic, and grate the carrots.

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Heat some olive oil in a pan and toss in the onions and garlic until they are softened.  Add the mushrooms carrots, chili powder, cumin, and salt and cook on low for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Wash and drain the chickpeas.

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Get a large bowl and add the chickpeas, dijon, soy sauce, and ketchup.  The recipe says to mash these things, but we used our immersion blender.  We blended it, but we kept some of the chickpea chunks.  Mince the mint and mix into the chickpea blend.  Add the rice and combine thoroughly.

Crumble the feta into the chickpea blend and mix in well.  Make patties of about 1/2 c of burger mix.

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Put some olive oil in a pan and fry them up over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes per side.

Devour.