Kofta Burger

Photo of the Kofta burger on a plate.
Kofta burger with hummus, feta, onions, tomato and lettuce (off camera).
Photo by PattyCooks.

Diet
[x] Flexitarian + Omnivore
[O] Vegetarian + Pescatarian
[O] Vegan
[x] Gluten free: use GF panko and bread
[x] Keto: skip the panko and use lettuce wraps instead of bread
[O] Weight Main: Nope
[x] Mediterranean
[O] Lectin Avoidance: tomato, grains, beans
[O] Oxalate Avoidance: tomato, parsley
[O] Purine Avoidance: beef, lamb

Kofta Burger

A lamb + beef, and well herbed burger with feta, hummus and tomatoes, lettuce and red onions.

Meat

  • 1/2 # Ground lamb
  • 1/2 # Ground chuck
  • 1 Egg (Large)
  • 3 T Avocado oil (for frying the patties)

Herbs + Spices for the Meat

  • 1/4 C Panko
  • 3 T fresh parsley (minced)
  • 1 T fresh oregano (minced)
  • 3 T fresh mint (minced)
  • 2 t cumin seeds (crushed in pestle and mortar)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Sandwich

  • 4 Hamburger buns (Toast the buns)
  • 8 T Hummus (Put 1T hummis on each bread slice)
  • 4 T Feta Cheese (Place on bottom bread, stick into the hummus so it stays put)
  • 4 leafs Lettuce
  • 1 Tomato (Thick slices of heirloom tomatoes)
  • 1/2 Red onion (~3 thin slices per sandwich)

Mise en Place

  1. Wash all the herbs and veggies. Spin or air dry them well.

  2. Dice the parsley, oregano, and mint and combine well in a bowl. Set aside for the meat.

  3. Cumin seeds need to be crushed in pestle and mortar. Set aside for the meat.

  4. Thinly slice red onions, slice heirloom tomato, and tear off one lettuce leaf per sandwich.

Meat Mixture

  1. Combine the two meats and egg in a bowl, add salt and pepper, and mix well with a fork. (If you use your hands this meat will becoMe too packed together, making a hard burger.)

  2. Add panko, herbs, and cumin to the meat, continuing to mix with a fork so it is all integrated.

  3. Then using your hands divide the meat mixture into four portions (or 4oz each) and roll into a ball. Flaten the ball as thin as you can make it so the size of the burger is at least the size of the bun. There will be some shrinkage.

Frying

  1. Add 3T avocado oil in a hot skillet, then fry the patties. Thin patties cook faster, thicker patties will take longer to make sure the meat is thouroughly cooked.

Sandwich

  1. Toast the bread, place hummus on each slice of the bread.

  2. Place feta cheese into the hummus, so it stayes in place, then add the patty.

  3. Layer with 3 thin or thick onion slices, 1 tomato slice, and one lettuce leaf.

This can be a great variation to a regular beef hamburger. Greater still is if you can make your own hummus!

If you really like fresh herbs, feel free to play around with how much to add or even what to add. Really like dill? Add that. Sometimes I even change out the lettuce and use mint leaves as the crunchy green.

Another option, to play with the flavor, would be to add 1T Ouzo (in place of egg) to add a bit of moisture and flavor to the meat. The panko will soak up that liquorish-flavored liquid and that will help moisten the meat and add a depth to the burger.

You can also play around with using different types of hummus that are now readily available on grocery shelves. Altho I would argue those are no longer “hummus”, more like hummus-ish.