A Mediterranean Start to the Morning
Lamb and mint is a pairing that hardly needs defending, and it turns out to work just as well at eight in the morning as it does at eight at night. These patties take five minutes to mix and ten to cook, and the fresh herbs keep them bright rather than heavy. Grilled tomatoes alongside are not optional — the acidity is what makes the plate work.
Ingredients
Serves 4 | Cost: $8.00 per serving | Total: $32.00 | Ready in 20 min
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) ground lamb
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 ripe tomatoes, halved
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Mix the sausage. Combine the ground lamb with the fresh mint, fresh coriander, ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Mix with your hands until evenly combined but do not overwork it.
- Shape the patties. Divide the mixture into eight portions and flatten each into a patty about 1.5 cm thick. Press a slight dimple into the centre of each so they cook evenly rather than doming.
- Grill the tomatoes. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Place the tomato halves cut side down and cook for 4 minutes until deeply caramelised. Turn, season with salt, cook for 2 more minutes, then set aside.
- Cook the patties. In the same pan, cook the lamb patties for 3–4 minutes per side, until well browned outside and just cooked through. Lamb has enough fat that no extra oil should be needed.
- Rest and serve. Rest the patties for 2 minutes, then plate with the grilled tomatoes, a wedge of lemon and a final scattering of chopped mint.
Nutritional & Dietary Notes
Dairy-Free
There is no milk, cream, butter or cheese in this recipe. Richness comes from the meat, the cooking fat and the aromatics rather than from dairy, which makes it a comfortable choice for anyone who is lactose intolerant or avoiding dairy altogether.
Gluten-Free
Every ingredient in this recipe is naturally free from wheat, barley and rye. If you are cooking for someone with coeliac disease, double-check any stock, sauce or spice blend you buy in, as gluten-containing thickeners and malt derivatives are common hidden additions in commercial products.
Paleo
This recipe sticks to whole, unprocessed ingredients: quality meat, vegetables, herbs, natural fats and spices. There are no grains, legumes, refined sugars or industrial seed oils, so it fits cleanly within a paleo framework.
Featured HOTRO.ca Product
This recipe is built around Ground Lamb from HOTRO.ca. We source premium BC-raised and ethically farmed meats and slow-simmered bone broth, so the quality of the core ingredient does most of the work for you. Substituting a lesser product will change the result more than any other single change you could make to this recipe.
Hand-formed lamb patties with fresh mint and coriander, pan-fried and served with grilled tomato.