Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

Well, we are a week away from the official start to the barbecue season. Although this past year I have been very good about grilling regardless of the weather- but there is something special about this time of year. Everyone dusts off the outside furniture and the grill getting ready for lazy summer days.

We recently cleaned out our grill- I actually was trying to convince my husband to buy a new one since this one is about nine years old. He was not convinced, since it had never given us trouble. After we changed the grates and cleaned the inside- really well- it was like new again.

I digress-as usual… the idea was to talk about these fabulous lamb burgers. I wanted to post something different for Memorial day and instead of beef or turkey burgers, I decided to use lamb- and lamb made me think of Moroccan food. So, I started doing some research and came up with this fabulous burger recipe. It has garlic, shallots, cilantro, cumin and harissa- which is a Moroccan hot sauce. It was a big hit- super flavorful. I paired it with a sun dried tomato and herb mayonnaise- it is a great combination. I also decided against the regular soft buns and bought a very crusty sour dough bread- a match made in heaven!

Definitely make these for the upcoming long weekend- your family and friends will love you.

• 1½ pounds ground lean lamb
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large shallot, grated
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons harissa sauce

Put the lamb in a mixing bowl and add the paprika, salt, cumin, garlic, shallot, parsley, cilantro and harissa. Mix well and divide into 8 patties. Keep aside.

Grill the patties on high for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

Sun Dried Tomatoes Mayonnaise

• ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes (in oil), chopped
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Juice of half a lemon

Mix the sun dried tomatoes, mayonnaise, cilantro, parsley, salt and lemon juice into a small bowl. Mix well and refrigerate till serving.

To Assemble

• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• Baby arugula
• 2 baguettes, sliced and cut into 4 pieces each

Place a burger into a sliced piece of baguette. Spread some mayonnaise and add a tomato, some onion and arugula.