Harissa Lamb Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

As regular readers will know, I'm a firm believer that harissa can jazz up almost any recipe: it's a delicious flavour-bomb and it works particularly well with mince, and particularly well with lamb... so behold! the harissa lamb burger...


The spice of the harissa is offset beautifully by the slight sweetness of lamb fat and the addition of Parmesan brings a good kick of saltiness. I've kept this dish simple, with just a little spinach in the bun but I can also recommend the addition of caramelised onions, pickled jalapeños or any condiments of your choice!


Harissa Lamb Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 4

400g minced lamb

2 heaped tsp harissa paste

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into fries

2 tbsp. oil

1 tsp garlic granules

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

50g parmesan, grated

4 burger buns (I used wholemeal rolls but feel free to use brioche!)

baby spinach

Preheat the oven to 200C. Put the sweet potato fries into a large baking tray. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle over the garlic granules and season liberally with salt and pepper. Toss everything together and then cook in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, turning half way through.

Meanwhile, mix the lamb mince and the harissa paste in a mixing bowl with a big pinch of salt. Pound the meat with your hands until soft in texture. Form into four patties and then put on a plate in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Heat a griddle pan or large frying pan over a very high heat. Once smoking hot, cook the patties for 5-6 minutes on each side. It is *essential* that you do not move the burgers apart from flipping once so that they do not stick and crust forms on the outside.

When the burgers are almost cooked, place a small pile of parmesan on top of each patty, sprinkle the pan with a little water and then cover with tin foil. The steam will melt the cheese. Once cooked, removed from the pan and wrap in tin foil to rest.


Take the burger pan off the heat and then lightly toast the cut side of the burger buns in the residual lamb fat. To serve, put a little spinach on each bun, top with a burger and any condiments of your choice and enjoy with the sweet potato fries alongside.