Grilled Lamb Burger with Haloumi

FEATURING MONJAY MEZZA’S GRILLED HALOUMI

Not much needs to be done to enjoy our products, Break open a packet of your favourite crackers or cut a carrot into batons and dip away. Or simply arrange our delicious finger foods on a platter and watch them crowd around. But the potential of our range is so much more, and we want to prove it. So we've created our very own recipe page to show you the versatility of our products. Dips to marinate or bake with, finger food transformed into main meals - the limit is your imagination.

SERVES: 4
COOK TIME: 25 minutes

The hamburger debate in Australia is pretty narrow: to beetroot or not to beetroot? There are, in reality, so many other questions to consider.

Beef or lamb mince?

Tomato sauce or eggplant dip?

Non-descript, sliced cheese or grilled haloumi?

When it comes to comfort food, the humble hamburger is right up there with pizza, pasta and hot chips. Like these classics, it’s a bit of a blank page. This is an opportunity. Instead of tomato sauce, mustard or aioli, think smooth and smoky eggplant dip. Cheddar becomes haloumi. And maybe we swap out beef mince for something naturally fattier and juicier – lamb mince.

Speaking of which, the key to a flavoursome and juicy hamburger patty is in the cooking. Too often, this disc of meat turns out disappointingly dry and dull. The latter happens because not enough flavour is added to the mince, the former because we squish the life out of it when we grill it.

To get your hamburger patties just right, follow our steps below.

Ingredients

1 Lebanese cucumber
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
500g lamb mince
1 small onion, grated or very finely diced
A small handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
Olive oil
4 brioche buns
100 grams of Monjay’s Grilled Haloumi, diced
1 vine-ripened tomato
Monjay’s Eggplant Dip
Monjay’s Garlic Dip

Method

Slice the cucumber on an angle so you get longer pieces, then place in a bowl and sprinkle with the vinegar and a little salt.

Tip the mince into a bowl and add the onion and parsley. Season with a little salt and pepper (not too much salt, as it drags moisture out of the meat), then get to work with your fingers. Squeeze and fold the mixture for a couple of minutes, until you feel the texture turn sticky. This means you’ve worked the proteins in the mince and made them bond, creating a patty that stays together without the need of eggs or breadcrumbs.

Add the haloumi and stir gently through the mixture – you don’t want to break it up too much.

Portion the mince into quarters, then roll each into smooth balls and then coat in a little olive oil.

Heat your barbecue or griddle pan. You want it hot but not too hot. When ready, place them on the grill and gently flatten them – and do not do this again, not even when you flip them; too much squishing forces the moisture out of the hamburger patties and leaves you with dry discs of meat.

Grill on both sides for around three minutes until cooked through, then remove and rest.

Grill the bun halves on both sides. Slice the tomato. Get building.

Start by spreading some Eggplant dip on the base of the buns. Top with a patty, then a slice of the tomato and two slices of the cucumber. Finish with a little Garlic Dip and then sandwich with the bun lids. Eat.

*Variations: We’ve gone with our Eggplant Dip and Garlic Dip, but feel free to mix it up. Our Hummus with Roasted Capsicum and Jalapeno would work brilliantly while changing the dynamic, as would the Taramasalata.

Monjay Mezza is the home of traditional Middle Eastern Dips, Finger Food and Desserts.