Moroccan-style lamb burgers recipe

These tasty lamb burgers from Jamie Oliver are ideal for throwing on the barbie on a summers day

Jamie: "The idea here is to keep the meat as it is – straight, sweet and beautiful – then use a dry rub to add lovely layers of flavour. For me, the whole point of celebration food to take something really comfortable and doing something surprising with it"

Serves 6

Ingredients

600g quality lamb shoulder, minced
Olive oil
6 soft rolls, halved
6 heaped tbsp natural yoghurt
1 heaped tbsp harissa paste
Juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
A handful of fresh mint leaves

For the dry rub

1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ras el hanout or garam masala
1–2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

For the salad

1 round lettuce, washed and spun dry
½ a bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
A handful of edible flowers (optional)
Lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
½ pomegranate

Method

For the dry rub, pound all the ingredients in a pestle and mortar until combined.
Divide the minced lamb into 6 pieces. Pat each piece into a ball then squash into a burger, about 1.5cm thick. Pat some of the rub all over the burgers then drizzle over a tiny bit of olive oil. Cook on your barbecue or in a griddle pan for 6 to 7 minutes each side, or until done to your liking. Don’t worry if you think they looks burnt, that’s just a combination of the spices, the caramelising lamb fat and the smoke. When the burgers are nearly ready, toast the buns on the side of the barbecue or griddle.
Spoon the yoghurt into a bowl and dollop the harissa on top. Squeeze over a little lemon juice to loosen, then ripple the harissa through the yoghurt and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
To serve, spread some harissa yoghurt on the toasted buns, top with the burgers and squash them into the buns. Add some more yoghurt, then squeeze the remaining lemon juice over a few mint leaves and place on top.
For the salad, place the lettuce leaves, mint and edible flowers in a bowl, dress with the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil and tap over the pomegranate seeds to add little capsules of sweetness. Delicious!

For more food inspired by Jamie's Feastival, visit www.jamieoliver.com/magazine or pick up a copy of the next issue of Jamie Magazine, on sale 25 August from leading supermarkets and WHSmith.