Spicy Lamb Burgers With Tahini
Updated June 3, 2024
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE BURGERS
1 pound ground lamb
½ cup roughly chopped cilantro, plus sprigs for assembly
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
2 large garlic cloves, finely grated
1 serrano chile, finely chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil
FOR THE TAHINI SAUCE
2 teaspoons lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons juice (from 1 lemon)
½ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
3 tablespoons tahini
1 cup plain yogurt (full-fat or low-fat)
¼ cup thinly sliced green scallion tops
2 tablespoons roughly chopped dill
FOR ASSEMBLY
Small pitas, toasted
Tomato slices
Avocado slices
Roasted red peppers, jarred or fresh
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the burgers: Place the ground lamb on a rimmed baking sheet or in a large bowl. Add cilantro, paprika, cumin, salt, coriander, fennel, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne, garlic and serrano.
- Step 2
Knead mixture until the spices are well incorporated. Wrap the meat and refrigerate for an hour or up to 48 hours.
- Step 3
With wet hands, form into 8 (2-ounce) balls, then flatten balls into thin patties. Refrigerate until ready to cook. (Patties can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to a month.)
- Step 4
Meanwhile, make the tahini sauce: Put lemon zest and juice in a medium bowl. Add salt, garlic and tahini, and stir to dissolve. Whisk in yogurt, and stir in scallions and dill.
- Step 5
Cook the burgers: Heat a wide cast-iron pan over medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan. When oil is wavy, cook 4 patties at a time, in batches, to keep from crowding the pan, for about 1½ to 2 minutes per side, until lightly browned. The thin patties will be cooked medium but will remain juicy. (Alternatively, cook over a hot grill for 3 minutes on each side.)
- Step 6
To serve, tuck each patty into a pita with a spoonful of tahini sauce, tomato, avocado, cilantro and roasted red pepper.
Private Notes
Comments
I love cumin, but I agree with Michael that this has far, far too much. It overwhelmed the other flavors. Maybe 2 tsp, definitely NOT 2 tbs.
This is definitely over-spiced. Why bother to use lamb (which I love)? Any ground meat will do because you can’t taste it. I am a big fan of East Indian and North African cuisines but this mishmash just leaves me perplexed. It’s the first NYT recipe that I vow to never look at again.
I offer an alternative -I cut all the spices in half (husband does not like heat anyway) and instead of Tahini,I used Taziki sauce . I added cucumbers into the pita bread to add a crunch . We cooked the 2oz lamb patties on the grill . Three minutes was too much for the ground lamb I bought. It must have had less fat. I will cook it less to keep it juicy. It was delicious. We will definitely have it again.
I made this with impossible meat (for my husband, I don’t normally like it), it was awesome.
2 Teaspoons f salt is far too much. I enjoyed the amount off the other spices. I may add some grate lemon zest the next time, but only 1/2 tsp salt.
Even though I hadn't read the comments first (which I usually do as they're often helpful), my instinct was that the amounts of all those strong-tasting spices were way too high, so I just sprinkled them on by eye far more sparingly. They're a delicious complement to the lamb, which is delicious in its own right, so you want to taste both. Be very sparing with the EVOO as it smokes a lot and the burgers have plenty of fat. The burgers were perfectly spicy with the garlicky tahini sauce.