September first week will ring in the second year for British Lamb Week. A campaign that has been launched to popularise the versatile and tasty meat, especially to make it appealing to a younger audience.
Last year I was invited to the launch of this campaign which was hosted at Chef Cyrus Todiwala’s restaurant Cafe’ Spice Namaste’. As the new Lambassador for ‘ Tasty Easy Lamb’ Cyrus very passionately demonstrated some quick and delicious ways to cook lamb. Lamb is perfect for the summer season as it can be barbecued or grilled and enjoyed al-fresco. Amongst other dishes, we tried a fabulously juicy Blue cheese stuffed lamb burger. The recipe for this by Chef Cyrus is too good not to share with all of you.
As expected the incredible spice man has incorporated the use of many wonderful spices in this recipe.
Blue cheese stuffed lamb burger recipe by Chef Cyrus Todiwala
Ingredients
- 675 gms lamb mince
- 1 finely chopped medium onion
- 2-3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 x 2inch piece minced fresh ginger
- 1 slender minced green chilli seeds included
- 1 tbsp ground cumin powder
- 1.5 tbsp ground coriander powder
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 3 heaped tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
- 1 tsp Garam Masala powder
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp crushed black pepper
Forthe Stuffing
- 150 gms Blue cheese, crumbled
- 2 Finely chopped green chillies
- 1 tbsp Finely chopped fresh coriander
- 2 Finely chopped cloves of Garlic
- Rolls or bread, to serve
Instructions
- In a large bowl gently mix all the burger ingredients together. Divide into 6 evenly sized burgers
- In a small bowl blend the stuffing ingredients together and shape into equal-sized balls to stuff the burgers
- Make an indentation in the centre of each burger with your thumb and fill with a ball of the cheese. Make sure the cheese is completely encased when you form the burger
- Cook on a prepared grill or barbecue for 6-8 minutes on each side or until any meat juices run clear
- Serve with your favourite bread or rolls with some sliced tomatoes, onion and lettuce and some relish
We must appreciate that the demand for meat consumption is ever increasing in spite of the many pressures on limited resources of our planet. But as a meat lover myself, I must say, that it is great to know that it is possible to love your planet while continuing to consume meat. One of the ways to do that is to choose to add locally produced lamb to your diet. It is not only easy to cook but also, lamb raised in the English countryside is among the most sustainable in the world.
Sheep and lambs graze on naturally occurring grass which is good for the environment. It helps permanent grasslands to pull in carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil. In addition, it preserves water quality and overall helps farms reduce their energy consumption. Along with being sustainable, sheep farming aids employment thereby building communities and supporting the economy.
Here is an easy kitchen cheat sheet to get you started with which cuts of lamb are best for what you want to cook, with handy tips on freezer storage and cooking techniques.
So won’t you be doing to your bit to help protect the lambscape? The results of your kitchen experiments are bound to be lambtastic! Excuse the puns, I couldn’t resist 😉
Disclaimer: With thanks to AHDB Beef & Lamb and Cyrus Todiwala for having me as a guest. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review and was not compensated monetarily for this post. Kitchen cheat sheet chart and images provided by AHDB Beef & Lamb.
