Lamb and Pistachio Patties

     This past week I bought a pound of 85% lean, grass-fed ground beef for burgers on the grill.  I also bought one pound of ground lamb for the Lamb and Pistachio Patties I planned to make.  Guess which package I pulled from the refrigerator for the lamb patties?  Sometimes it pays to slow down and read the labels...
     We ultimately ate the patties both ways; first with the ground beef and again, just today, with the lamb.  I liked them a lot -- good thing!  Plus... they're easy.

+ recipe (adapted) from Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour | via The Splendid Table

• 5-ounces shelled pistachio nuts
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 18-ounces (500 grams) ground lamb
• 1 onion, very finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 heaping teaspoons sumac (Turkish Ground Sumac Berries)
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Grated rind of 1 lime (preferably organic)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for frying

1.  Pulse 3-ounces of the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Add the remaining pistachios to the bowl of the food processor and pulse very briefly.  Transfer nuts to a chopping board and give them a rough chop; add to the mixing bowl with the ground pistachios. 
2.  Add all of the remaining ingredients, except for the vegetable oil, to the mixing bowl and stir to combine.  Then using your hands work the mixture as if kneading bread dough until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the eggs and pistachios are evenly distributed. 
3.  Preheat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. 
4.  Divide the mixture into 10 balls and shape each ball into a patty.  Drizzle oil to coat the bottom of the preheated pan and add the lamb patties without crowding.  If necessary, cook the patties in two batches.  Fry the lamb patties until the undersides form a nice brown crust, then flip and finish cooking until done.  Serve the Lamb and Pistachio Patties with plain Greek Yogurt.  I added a little chopped chives to my yogurt.  ENJOY

TAKE a LOOK: