Lamb & Pistachio Patties

Please excuse the dirt in my toddlers fingernails #RealLife! She was out helping us on the farm and let me tell you— when you literally live your life in the dirt, there is always evidence of dirt on your body no matter how much you scrub.

Okay, back to these lamb patties! These patties are lovely as a snack or as a part of a main meal. Lamb is incredibly nutritious and I like to switch up our red meat a bit to get different nutritional benefits. Not only is lamb loaded with iron but it has plenty of omega-3’s, zinc and selenium. These minerals are essential to immune function and have anti-inflammatory properties. Not only that but I snuck in a whopping 1 1/4 cups of fresh arugula into the patties (arugula is thought to be one of the most nutritional greens out there!) along with pistachios for a lovely flavor boost. We served our lamb patties with some roasted peppers and asparagus along with a simple side of cassava orzo (I love the grain free orzo from Jovial). We aren’t a grain free family but when I serve grains I like to either purchase them sprouted or soak them the night before preparing. That makes them easier to digest (especially for small developing systems). That isn’t always an option so grain free pastas always come in handy.

My toddler and 10-month old gobbled these patties up! If lamb isn’t something you serve often or your not as familiar with it I think this is the perfect introdcutory recipe for you and your little ones. The pistachios and arugula balance out the flavor and these are moist and so darn delicious.

What I love about these patties as that they can be served simply with a side of yogurt for a snack or thrown into a falafel wrap with veggies, yogurt, and herbs. Or served like we did- simple with a side of roasted veggies and some orzo pasta. If you have a young baby these are perfect for baby-led weaning. My 10-month old just grabs a whole patty and gnaws away on it!

I hope you all give this recipe a try. If so please leave a comment and let me know how they turned out! Happy cooking and eating everyone.

Lamb & Pistachio Patties

PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES    COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES    SERVES: 18 patties

Lamb Patties

• 1/2 cup pistachios

• 1 1/4 cup firmly packed arugula

• 1 onion, quartered

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 1 pound ground lamb

• salt and pepper

Yogurt Sauce:

• 1 cup whole milk Greek Yogurt

• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

• pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Add the pistachios to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add them to a medium sized bowl. Add the arugulat to the processor and pulse again for a few seconds to roughly chop. Add the arugula to the bowl with the pistachios. Continue with the onion and garlic to form a smooth paste, and add to the bowl with the other ingredients. Add the the lamb and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and with wet hands shape them patties into about 15-18 patties (about 2 inches in diameter and about 3/4 inch thick.)

3. Place the patties on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

4. When the patties are all done cooking serve them along with the yogurt and enjoy!

Notes

This recipe is inspired by the cookbook Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi