silk road lamb burgers

Lamb

Silk Road Lamb Burgers

I've created a recipe for Silk Road lamb burgers, inspired by romantic imagined scenes of travel on camel or horseback to exotic towns filled with spices, music, poetry and silk. The Silk Road refers to the many routes that plied 4,000 miles between Rome and China, connecting Turkey, Central Asia and Persia along the way. Marco Polo is famous for having traveled along this route. Valuable commodities carried west on the Silk Road included silk, porcelain and gunpowder from China, which also supplied peaches and pomegranates; pepper, batik, spices, perfumes, glass beads and gems from India; incense, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg from the East Indies; nuts, sesame seeds, glass and carpets from Persia; and coral and ivory from Siam. While functioning as an important trade route from the 1st century B.C. to the A.D. 15th century, the Silk Road also became an important crossroads of the arts, ideas and religions.

Ingredients

For the lamb burgers
2 pounds ground lamb
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds, toasted in a dry skillet
3/4 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced
8 sesame seed hamburger buns (a nod to nang, the traditional sesame crusted flatbread of Chinese Muslim cuisine)
For the topping
2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
1/2 medium white onion, julienned
1 cup scallions, julienned
3 jalapeno peppers, sliced into thin rounds (I do not seed them but you may if you prefer less heat)
1 garlic cloved, minced
1-2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper, adjust to taste
salt, to taste

Directions

Season ground lamb with salt, freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, minced cilantro and toasted cumin seeds. Combine thoroughly.
Shape lamb mixture into 8 patties.
Heat oil in pan, then sauté onion, scallions, and peppers and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until onions are translucent and wilted. Set aside.
Cook lamb patties to desired doneness on an outdoor grill, preferably charcoal.
Serve burgers on grilled sesame seed buns, and top with the onion and pepper mixture.

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silk road lamb burgers