India Lamb Burger with Cucumber-Lavendar Salad
Ingredients
Cucumber-Lavendar Salad:
2 cups cucumber, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, seeded and chopped in 1/8" thickness
1 tbs. salt
12 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. minced garlic
4 tbs. honey
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tbs. culinary lavendar, pulverized in food processor.
India Lamb Burgers:
2 lbs. ground lamb
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tbs. minced garlic
1 tbs. black mustard seed
1 tbs. garam masala
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. cumin
Vegetable oil for brushing on rack grill
6 onion burger buns
Instructions
Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to medium high. Prepare the Cucumber-Lavendar Salad: Place the sliced cucumbers in a colandar and sprinkle with salt and toss lightly. Let sit for about 15 minutes to remove excess moisture from cucumbers. Rinse briefly. Place cucumbers in glass bowl and set aside while preparing the dressing. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey. pepper and lavendar. Pour mixture over cucumbers, toss lightly, cover bowl with foil and refrigerate. Prepare the Lamb burgers: In a large mixing bowl, add the ground lamb and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, add together the salt, pepper, onion, garlic, mustard seed, garam masala, tumeric, cardamom and cumin. Sprinkle spice mixture over the ground lamb. Handling the mixture as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portion and form the portion into patties to fit the buns. Brush the grill rack with oil. Place the patties onto the grill rack until brown on bottoms about 8-9 minutes. Turn the patties over and continue grilling until well done, about 7-8 minutes. During the last few minutes of cooking, split open the onion buns and place them on the outer edges of the grill to toast lightly. Assemble the burgers: On each bottom bun, place one patty and top with a heaping 1/4 cup cucumber-lavendar salad, cover with bun tops and serve.