Lamb Kofte Burgers with Pistachio Pesto, Cous Cous & Dill Yoghurt

If you’ve ever met me, you’ll know that apart from my debilitating love of creamy pastas, I also have an unhealthy weakness for burgers. Heaven help me, there’s nothing like a good burger. And generally speaking, the more cheese & additional meat it on it, the better.

So it was in an act of survival to explore alternative burger recipes. In fairness, this burger is served with a delicious couscous, quick dill yoghurt and easy pistachio pesto which I am fairly certain lifts this burger to a higher, much more salubrious place.

This is a perfect dish if you want to recreate the magic of (for example) our delicious Lamb Shawarma without 4 hours of cooking and a day’s worth of marinating time.  All in all, this is a perfect mid-week meal which, beginning to end (if you can keep yourself organised), shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes.

Adapted from Vodka and Biscuits 

Serves 2

Ingredients

Lamb Burgers
250g lamb mince (as lean as you can find)
a healthy handful of dill, chopped
1/4 tsp each of chilli flakes, cumin, coriander, cinnamon
1/2 tsp of dried oregano
a good pinch of salt
1 fat clove of garlic, minced

Pesto
half bunch of mint, leaves only
30g pistachio nuts (shelled weight)
2-4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (depends on how liquid you like your pesto – I normally stop at 2 tbsp ever since I discovered how many calories are in one tbsp (that day will haunt me forever) but more would be nice/look more pesto-like)
20-30g of crumbled feta (depending on how much you like it – once crumbled, it goes a long way)

Dill Yoghurt
150g of fat free natural yoghurt
a good squeeze of lemon juice
a small handful of dill, chopped
salt and pepper

Couscous
70g of dried couscous
a handful of black olives, roughly chopped
a squeeze of lemon
1/4 vegetable stock cube
2 tbsp of parsley and/or coriander, chopped (if you have it – will still be lovely if you don’t)

Method

1. To make the yoghurt, mix all the ingredients and set aside in the fridge
2. To make the pesto, put all of the ingredients except for the feta in a processor and blitz until it reaches a nice crumbled texture. Put in a small bowl and fold through the feta. Set aside.
3. Prepare the couscous according to packet instructions, making up the required liquid from the stock cube and the squeeze of lemon juice. When it’s ready, stir through the olives and herbs.
4. Prepare the burgers by mixing all the burger ingredients together. Form two patties. You can dry fry these in a good, heavy bottomed frying pan due to the inherent fatty content. If your pan isn’t fantastic or you don’t mind adding the extra oil, add half a tablespoon to the pan as it heats. Either way, start at a medium heat.
5. Fry for up to 10 minutes total (depending on thickness of your burger), flipping half way through until crispy on the outside. Give it a little less time if you like them pink in the middle.
6. To serve, create a bed of couscous at the bottom of your bowl. Top with the lamb burger then dress flamboyantly with the pesto and yoghurt sauces. If you have a chilled bottle of prosecco or an indulgent red, now’s the time to open it.

 

Taking this one over to my old friends at Fiesta Friday 🙂