honey-cumin mascarpone lamb burgers

Until about five years ago, the closest I had come to eating lamb was the lamb-shaped butter I insisted on inviting to Easter dinner every year. Actually, insisted isn’t strong enough. For me it has always been, and still remains, a stringent requirement. Without it I would throw up my jelly-bean-stained hands in dramatic disbelief, exclaiming that I couldn’t have done anything so wrong to warrant this.

I was actually paid to take my first taste of lamb. I’d love to regale you with an impressive story, but really it was part of the training protocol at the bussing job I took at a fine-dining restaurant during high school. We had to taste everything on the menu (bummer, right?), which meant I fell in love with meats of every luxurious cut, Caesar salads, champagne-infused Brie, lobster tails, and lamb chops.

But even before that, the only Lamb Chop I had come to know was Shari Lewis’ hilarious creation. With an infectious laugh and a Brooklynesque accent, Lamb Chop brightened my Sunday mornings with knock-knock jokes, the song that never ended, and customary PBS life lessons (like this one, about the importance of being independent). Does anyone else remember this show?

I’ve recently been hearing a lot of good things about lamb, and I’ve been increasingly interested in the prospect of it making it to my table at home. So I made up a little bit of my own concoction with the help of this recipe.

I began by making the Honey-Cumin Mascarpone sauce, whose original recipe presents itself as a dipping sauce for lamb chops.

But for these lamb burgers, I decided to use the sauce more like one might use a mayonnaise. So I mixed a bit of the mascarpone into the ground lamb before forming them into patties. The chopped mint leaves remain a visible clue to the goodness that is to be found inside.

I think what is most surprising is how well and deliciously the cumin just shines when you bite into these.

I much prefer a more rustic bread with my burgers, so I like to add a drizzle of olive oil to some ciabatta and toss it on the grill just long enough for subtle grill marks to appear.

Now, I sometimes doubt the honesty of my family. It’s not that they’re not trustworthy people. It’s just that there’s no way that every joke I relayed to them from my Sunday morning with Lamb Chop warranted the laughs they gave me. And there’s no way that I delivered them with enough comic timing to leave them wanting more. But they always humored me, and continue to do so still today.

I don’t think they were merely appeasing me when they told me they liked these lamb burgers, though. You can always tell when people take seconds. So, I invite you to give these a try. I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed. And that’s no joke.

Honey-Cumin Mascarpone Lamb Burgers
With the help of this recipe, from Food Network.

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup creme fraiche
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, combine the creme fraiche, honey, cumin, and mint. Add the mascarpone cheese and stir until just combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the lamb burgers:
1 pound ground lamb
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 ciabatta buns
2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the grill to medium-high heat.
Begin by adding 1/4 cup of the honey-cumin mascarpone sauce to the ground lamb and mix. Add more as you like. Don’t worry too much about the mixture becoming too wet, it will make for a moist burger. Form into patties and grill to desired temperature.

Drizzle the ciabatta buns with olive oil and grill for one minute, or until grill marks have formed. Spread the remaining honey-cumin mascarpone sauce on the buns, top with your choice of green, and add the lamb burgers.

Enjoy!

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