Ground Lamb

Some of you may remember from my Lamburger post quite some time ago about my dad living next to a sheep farm. (If not, go check it out, seriously amazing recipe and a fun little story.)

Well as a house-warming gift my incredible dad and stepmom gave us an ice chest full of all sorts of wonderful cuts of lamb and even some pork! That is probably the best and most practical housewarming gift you could give a person right? Okay, maybe the best housewarming gift you could give a foodie. Daddy knows me all too well. Thankfully there was lots of ground lamb in the mix so I have been able to make this awesome dish a couple of times recently.

The lamb meatballs have a super unique flavor with the chopped up bits of apricot which keeps them super moist. I serve them over a bed of couscous with a little Athens salad made up of cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion. I love how light and refreshing the entire meal is! Seriously a fave recipe of mine and it just looks so darn pretty on the plate! Plus this recipe takes less than 25 minutes to make. #winning

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground lamb
1/3 c dried apricots, chopped
1/2 tsp coriander
1 small red onion, half finely chopped and half thinly sliced
kosher salt and pepper
1 cup couscous
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1/2 feta, crumbled

STEPS

Turn the oven on to broil.
In a bowl combine the ground lamb, apricots, coriander, the finely chopped red onion, salt, and pepper and mix until well combined,
Form the meat into 1 1/4″ balls and place them in a baking dish.
Place the dish in the oven on the middle rack and cook for 8–10 minutes.
While the lamb meatballs are cooking, prepare the couscous per package instructions.
In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and some salt and pepper.
Once the meatballs are couscous are done it’s time to plate.
Place a nice size scoop of the couscous in the center of the plate and top with 3–5 meatballs.
Place the sliced tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion on the plate next to the couscous.
Drizzle the lemon olive oil dressing over everything on the plate and then finish off with the crumbled feta cheese.
Dinner is ready to serve!

Recipe adapted from Real Simple.

Growing up my dad used to live on the edge of Wyoming, right up against the Idaho border. I would go out and visit him several times a year. He lived in this gorgeous 3-story ranch house right next to a sheep farm. I always loved looking at the sheep. Especially in winter when those cute little white fluffy lambs were out in a snow-covered field. It wasn’t until I was a young teenager that I discovered that those cute little fluffy white sheep were raised to be someone’s dinner. I was appalled that anyone could eat such a cute little creature! That is, until I got my first taste of lamb. Yum-o! Sorry lamby, you taste too good not to eat.

Lamb is absolutely delicious and, in my opinion, like no other meat. It has this absolutely delicious rich flavor that is unlike any other meat. I have been wanting to try making lamburgers at home for sometime now but it can be difficult to find ground lamb. Just about every year my dad purchases and entire lamb from the sheep farm. When I saw him a couple of weeks ago he happened to still have some of the ground lamb leftover from his last purchase, so I bummed it off him just so that I could make these exotic burgers. These were mind blowing good. I felt so bad for my husband because he happened to have a cold when I made them and was unable to taste much of anything. Looks like I am going to have to make them again very soon. Aw shucks!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c mayonnaise
2 tsp cumin
1–1 1/2 lb ground lamb
salt and pepper
olive oil
block of feta cheese sliced
red onion slices
green leaf lettuce
4 burger buns

STEPS

In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise and cumin and set in the fridge until ready to use.
Season the ground lamb with salt and pepper.
Form the ground meat into 4 thin patties.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the meat patties to the hot skillet and cook for 3–4 minutes.
Flip the patties and add the slices of feta cheese to the patties.
Continue cooking the lamburgers for another 4 minutes.
While the meat is cooking, lightly toast the buns in the oven.
Reduce the heat to low, and while the cheese finishes melting spread a good amount of the cumin mayonnaise onto the cut side of both the top and bottom buns.
Arrange the lettuce and red onion on the bottom half of each bun.
Top with the most delicious lamburger patty ever.
Add the top of the bun to your masterpiece and enjoy!