Lamb Burger with Raita and Caramelized Olives (Burger Friday)

This post is a little late, as I originally saw this burger around Easter on another blog. This one. Those of you, who do not speak Hungarian would be out of luck, but fear not, for I blog in English, so you will not be left out. 🙂

What you will need:

For the Patty:

• 500 g ground lamb
• 100g bacon
• 2-3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2-3 teaspoons ground coriander
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Caramelized Olives:

• 15-20 pieces of black olives
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter

For the Raita:

• 150 ml greek joghurt
• 1 handful of mint
• 1 handful of coriander leaves
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 garlic cloves

For the Cucumber Salad:

• 1 cucumber
• 1/2 pack of dill
• 1 handful of mint
• 1 handful of parsley

For the Pickled Onions:

• 1 medium red onion
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2-3 bayleaf
• 500 ml water

Others:

• 3 buns, sliced
• 1/4 iceberg salad, cut julienne

How to make it:

1. Ground the meat again, so it is twice ground, make sure to throw in the bacon as well
2. Season the meat with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper, then cover and refrigerate for about an hour, until you are ready to grill
3. Boil the water in a pot, add the sugar, the vinegar, the bay leaves and the salt
4. While the water boils, slice up the onions, and keep the outer, bigger rings
5. Once the water is boiled, pour about 3/4 of it on the onions, and leave it to soak for an hour
6. Cut the cucumbers to thin slices (you can make nice slices using the peeler), add some freshly minced parsley and dill, and pour the remaining vinegar water over it. Mix and put aside for an hour
7. Pour the greek joghurt in a bowl, add the lemon zest and half of the lemon juice, the minced coriander and mint leaves
8. Crush the garlic cloves, mince them and mix them into the raita. Add some salt, some white pepper, and leave the whole thing for an hour or so, so the flavors meet and greet
9. Cut the olives in half, melt the sugar in a pan on medium heat. Once al of it melted, add the olives and the butter, give everything a quick stir, and then put it aside to cool off
10. Toast your buns in the grillpan while it heats up
11. Once the grillpan is hot enough, grill the patties on medium heat until well done (or how you prefer)

The assembly:

1. Spread the raita over the lower and top half of the bun
2. Add a bunch of caramelized olives
3. Add the salad
4. Time for the patty
5. Top the patty with the onions and the cucumber
   

   Almost done

6. Crown the whole thing with the top half of the bun
   

   An unusual Easter treat

   The result is a tasty burger which would be best described by the words “fresh” and “exciting”. With each bite a different element takes the lead with the tastes. I definitely enjoyed it, I hope you will too.