Lamb Burgers

Serves 4. Recipe shared with the kind permission of Catrine Kelty and Edible Boston. Photo by Michael Piazza.

Beautiful burgers, inspired by a cherished memory! Catrine writes, “In the early spring, as soon as the snow melted and the earth in the garden was workable, weekends were spent outdoors. Lunch and dinner were cooked on an open fire near the garden. No Weber, no charcoal, no hot dogs… just a wood fire pit with a large grate was my father’s barbecue. That is where he would grill fat Toulouse sausages and the wonderful merguez our friend Bernard, a fantastic charcutier, would provide for the shop. I’m still dreaming about those merguez and have been chasing that perfect taste for years. Grilled lamb burgers bring me back to those fond memories.”

For the burgers:

1 pound ground lamb
2 tablespoons minced shallots
10 Kalamata olives, chopped
1½ teaspoons Aegean Salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper 

For the fixings:

½ cup feta cheese
¼ cup yogurt mixed with 1 tablespoon fresh dill
Thinly sliced cucumber
Sliced tomatoes
Thinly sliced red onion
4 hamburger rolls, brioche rolls, or pita bread

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients for the burgers until well distributed, making sure not to over-mix the meat. Divide into 4 equal patties. Heat a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of neutral oil and cook the patties 3 minutes per side for medium rare (or grill outside on a charcoal grill).

Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Serve on your choice of bread with the fixings; spoon the yogurt-dill sauce over the meat and stack with cucumber, tomato and red onion.

Catrine Kelty is a Boston-based, Montréal-raised food stylist whose father was a pivotal influence on her appreciation of food as craft. Her styling has appeared regularly in Edible Boston, Yankee Magazine, Down East Magazine and ChopChop, as well as cookbooks like Homegrown, Soframiz, Myers+Chang at Home, Eventide, and The Kripalu Kitchen among others. Follow her on Instagram @catrinekelty.