Lamb Burgers with Minted Yoghurt

Recipe HELEN PADARIN

Serves 4

Ingredients:
500g minced lamb (medium-course cut)
150g minced lamb fat or beef fat (ask your butcher)
2 tbsp coconut oil or good quality animal fat (duck fat, tallow, lard, for cooking)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp Turkish spice mix (see recipe below)
1 tsp sea salt

To serve:
2 baby cos lettuce, leaves separated
1 cucumber, halved and thinly sliced lengthways
6 Roma cherry tomatoes, or any type of tomatoes you wish, thinly slice
150g coconut yoghurt tzatziki

Method:
Heat a large frying pan or saucepan over medium heat with 1½ tablespoons of oil or fat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1½ minutes to soften. Allow to cool completely before mixing through the mince.
To make the patties, combine all of the ingredients including the cooked onions and garlic in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Alternately place the ingredients in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and mix until combined. Shape into 100g patties and flatten to 7cm in diameter.
Cook the lamb patties in a hot pan over medium high heat with the remaining oil for 2-3 minutes on each side or until the meat patty is medium or just cooked through. The patties should have enough seasoning through the mixture so there’s no need to add more salt.
To serve, lay out the cos lettuce leaves, then top with slices of cucumber and baby Roma tomatoes. Top with the lamb patty, and spoon some tzatziki over the top.

TURKISH SPICE MIX
Makes: 1¼ cups
Shelf life: 12 months
3½ tbsp ground cumin
3 tbsp dried mint
3 tbsp dried oregano
1½ tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp chilli powder
3 tbsp paprika

Mix all ingredients together to combine. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

On a recent trip to North East Arnhem Land to connect with the Yolngu community there, we came together to cook and share meals. Nothing fancy, just easy to source ingredients, real food recipes, that were delicious and nourishing. One of the favourites were bunless burgers just like these (recipe from my book with chef Pete Evans, The Complete Gut Health Cookbook).
For info on how you can share meals, learnings and life changing experiences with Yolngu people, head to www.togetherretreat.com