Sunday, June 10, 2007

Grilled Lamb Burgers With Black Olive Sauce

Mmmmm. Lamb. Even though I've been cutting back on my consumption of red meat, this lamb is worth the occasional lapse.

Our lamb comes from our neighbors across the fence. Gently raised, grass fed, this is organic lamb like you've never tasted. The word succulent barely begins to describe. I had a bottled sauce that I'd been dying to try so I decided to gussy-up the ground meat in a Middle Eastern-type fashion, which covers a large area, including my culinary imagination.


Fresh, tender oregano from the garden, a few chopped sweet onions and Narsai's Assyrian Pomegranate Sauce, which gave it just the right amount of moisture and spiciness, brought this already excellent lamb to its pinnacle. The topping is a combination of mayonnaise, or Vegenaise, black olive paste and lemon juice. So simple and so satisfying.

And so perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging. WHB, the blogosphere's longest-running food event, owes its existence to my blogger buddy Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen. Being hosted this week by Ulrike of Kuchenlatien, by Monday morning you will be able to read herb-y posts and get delicious recipes from food bloggers around the world. Click here for more information about WHB and how to join in the fun.

Mr. CC did the grilling and added the "fixin's" to his plate (that's our beloved local Brio Whole Wheat Walnut Bread), while I ate my burger with my fingers, breaking off one piece at a time and dipping it in the sauce before popping it into my happy mouth.

Grilled Lamb Burgers with Black Olive Sauce
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients
For the burgers:
2 pounds ground lamb
1/3 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
1/2 cup
Assyrian Pomegranate Marinade
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
several grinds good black peppercorns
For the mayonnaise:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or Vegenaise
1 tablespoon black olive paste or tapenade
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Using your clean hands, mix the onions, oregano, pomegranate sauce, salt and pepper into the ground lamb until fully incorporated.

Shape into 1/4-pound patties and place on parchment paper.
Grilling instructions are for a gas grill. If you have a charcoal grill you'll have to get directions elsewhere.
Heat your grill to 400-degrees. On placing the patties on the grill, allow them to sear for about 2 minutes then turn the grill down to 375 and cook for 5 more minutes. Flip the burgers over and finish cooking for about 10 minutes more or until they reach an internal temperature of 145 for medium rare.

To make the sauce, simply combine the ingredients well, adjust to your taste and serve. You can see a dollop of it in the "fixin's" plate photo above. It really wasn't photogenic enough to show on its own.
Have a great WHB weekend!


Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

15 comments:

  1. The burgers look and sound really great.... but what really caught my eye was the bread!
    And the sauce - anything with olives!

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  2. Sorry Christine, of course you are in the round-up. For any reason Yahoo decided that using oregano in a grilled burger is spam ;-). Thanks for joining WHB, the map is also up to date.

    Mea culpa.

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  3. Katie,
    Oh yes, the bread. They make it twice a week and I buy it up still warm. It's heaven!

    Thanks so much Ulrike. Sorry my email ended up in your spam box. That's frustrating. I'm glad to be included in WHB this week!

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  4. Hello Christine,
    so delicious it makes my mouth water. Thanks for inspiring my with another variety of lamb and olives. :)

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  5. This sounds delicious. Have some venison mince in the freezer. Thinking it might work instead of the lamb.

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  6. Christine, I'm so jealous to hear you have a local source of lamb. It's so expensive here that I rarely cook it, but I'm going to splurge this summer and make a few lamb dishes. This combination sounds just fabulous.

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  7. Yesterday the Food Network had a burger throwndown with Bobby Flay and it had me yearning for a burger. Now you go and post juicy, flavourful lamb burgers and I am in trouble. I want a burger now! :) looks sooooo good Christine.

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  8. You're welcome Helene! Thanks for visiting.

    Hi Wendy, I'm glad you stopped by again as I'd lost your blog link. You're now safely in my reader.
    And, I think venison would work just fine. Let me know how it turns out.

    Hi Kalyn,
    If you're jealous now, wait until I bring the lamb racks out of the freezer. :)

    Hi Cynthia, I hope you indulge in one!! :)

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  9. I've got lamb burgers on my menu this week and I will definitely consult this recipe when I prepare them. The mayonnaise is a great idea.

    Mary
    www.ceresandbacchus.com

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  10. Oh my, these are just about the most perfect burgers I have seen in a long time...we forget about these guys! i love how you left the larger pieces of onion in the lamb~what flavors must have poured out of this grilled delight!

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  11. Incredible Christine. Pomegranate Sauce and lamb . . . just beautiful. And I loved across the fence.

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  12. That looks really tasty Christine, I have not always been a fan of lamb, but have found a good source and found it really tasty. This blog didn't come through but I always keep and old one and check regularly.
    Anne

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  13. Greetings Christine, I tripped upon your blog through your comment at kalyn's. The burger and loaf look delish! May I suggest an almond sauce? It's Spanish in origin and I think it too would complement your burger.

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  14. I love "ground meats other than beef." These lamb burgers look delicious.

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  15. I love lamb. I'd love this recipe! Yum!

    Paz

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