Tarting Up a Lamb Burger

Lamb on the grill--crusty on the outside, tender and moist inside--is a special treat that usually calls for a leg of lamb and a crowd at the dinner table.

If you’re cooking for two, though, you can still capture the flavor of grilled lamb by using ground meat.

Ground lamb is available in most supermarkets. Unlike beef, ground lamb isn’t sold in a variety of fat-to-lean ratios. But a broiled ground lamb patty is comparable in fat to lean ground beef (18 to 20 grams of fat per 3 1/2-ounce serving of a broiled patty).

Lamb is so moist that it can be grilled to well-done without harming the texture or taste. What’s more, lamb has an affinity for more than the usual burger condiments. For example, refreshing, tart yogurt is a better match for lamb than for ground beef. Lamb stands up to aromatic spices like cumin and to such sweet spices as cinnamon and ginger. Buttery-tasting pine nuts are often paired with ground lamb.

The only way to destroy lamb’s quality is to overwork it. If you knead it, it will get tough. For this recipe, mix sauteed pine nuts and seasonings into the lamb as quickly and gently as possible.

Bennett is the author of “Dinner for Two” (Barron’s, 1994).

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LAMB BURGERS WITH YOGURT GARDEN SALAD

GARDEN SALAD

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 tablespoon chopped dill

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped tomato

Salt

Freshly ground white pepper

Combine yogurt, dill, onion, tomato and salt and pepper to taste in small bowl. Stir well.

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BURGERS

2 teaspoons butter

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1/4 cup minced onion

10 ounces ground lamb

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Salt, pepper

2 buns, optional

Many health food or specialty food stores sell yogurt made from goat’s milk. It’s richer and tangier than yogurt made from cow’s milk and is excellent in this recipe.

Melt butter in small skillet. Add pine nuts and onion and saute until nuts are golden and onion is tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Combine nut-onion mixture with lamb, cumin and salt and pepper to taste in small bowl. Form into 2 patties. Place on grill rack over ash-covered coals and grill until thoroughly cooked and no pink remains in center, about 5 minutes per side. (Note: Patties may be fried in skillet over medium heat until thoroughly cooked, about 5 minutes per side.)

Place burgers on 2 plates and top with salad. Or place burgers on bottom half of each bun, top with half of salad and other half of bun.

2 servings. Each serving without bun:

457 calories; 454 mg sodium; 95 mg cholesterol; 36 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 24 grams protein; 0.57 gram fiber.

2 servings. Each serving with bun:

587 calories; 704 mg sodium; 95 mg cholesterol; 38 grams fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 28 grams protein; 0.57 gram fiber.