hot lamb burgers
rating:lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/experts/nigelslater/story/0,,…
Serves about 6.
100g cracked wheat
125g unsmoked streaky bacon
3 large cloves of garlic
small bunch of rosemary
500g minced lamb
for the dressing:
2 bushy sprigs of rosemary
8 anchovy fillets, drained
60ml olive oil
juice of ½ a large lemon
Put the cracked wheat in a bowl, pour over enough boiling water from the kettle to cover, then set aside for an hour to swell.
Roughly chop the bacon and put it into a non-stick frying pan to cook. Shake it from time to time until it's golden and sizzling. Peel the garlic, roughly chop it and put it into a mortar with a half-teaspoon of sea salt. Crush it to a paste with the pestle. Finely chop the rosemary leaves (you need about 2 tbsp) and crush them with the garlic.
Stir the rosemary and garlic paste into the hot bacon, let it cook for a minute or two, stirring it round the pan from time to time, then mix it with the raw minced lamb. Squeeze the cracked wheat dry with your fists then tip it into the seasoned lamb. Grind in some black pepper.
Mix the lamb, bacon and wheat together with your hands - it's the most efficient way to do it. Make 12 small, flattish patties, each roughly the size of a digestive biscuit. Lay them on a plate (I put a piece of clingfilm over the first layer and then a second layer of patties on top of that), then refrigerate for at least an hour, otherwise they will fall apart.
Make the sauce by roughly chopping the rosemary leaves, finely chopping the anchovies, then stirring in the olive oil and lemon. No salt, but you could add pepper.
Heat a large, non-stick pan. Brush the patties with a little groundnut oil and place them in the pan three or four at a time. Cook till golden on the underside then turn carefully and cook the other side. Add a little oil if they stick. Serve hot, two per person, with the rosemary and anchovy dressing.
