Simple Kofta Burgers

Breaking News: The sky is blue, it’s warm outside, we’re wearing shorts (and flip-flops) and grilling season is officially on.
Two weeks ago it was still cold and miserable. Now it starting to look like it’s going to be summer after all.
Who knew?
Summer and barbecue have always gone together, well, like summer and barbecue.
And when you've got hot coals going, it is a natural instinct to grill up some burgers.
The two go hand in hand, just like summer and barbecue.
If we were to apply the transitive property of equality: if summer means barbecue and barbecue means burger ⇒ then summer means burgers.
In other words, burgers are summer. Let me rephrase that, burgers are the epitome of summer.
Another breaking news, people. As you may have noticed, today I’m all about pulling rabbits out of the hat.
Any-hoo...beef, buffalo, turkey, veggies, tofu or salmon, having a burger is never more satisfying than when you make it yourself.
So in the unlikely event that you haven't fired up your grill yet, these juicy, delicious and simple kofta burgers are the perfect motivation to do it.

Kofta is a Middle Eastern, Indian and Balkan traditional recipe for meatball/meatloaf. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat - usually beef or lamb - mixed with spices and/or onions.
There are probably thousands (more like millions) recipes for kofta.
This is my personal take.
I’m not claiming these are 100% authentic, but they’re good.
The haunting scent of allspice and cayenne pepper balanced with bright lemon juice and the aroma of almonds, makes these koftas hard to resist.
If you want to bring variety to your barbecue than this is it.

Simple Kofta Burgers                                                                                         Print this recipe!

Note. I used 80/20 ground chuck, but because these kofta burgers are packed with flavor, you can use leaner meat.

Ingredients
Makes 4 large burgers (or 8 smaller ones)

1 lb / 453 gr grass-fed organic ground beef (I used 80/20 ground chuck)
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I used organic Bionaturae)
1 medium onion, minced
Zest of one lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
2 round teaspoons allspice
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup / 1.3 oz / 35 gr chopped blanched almonds
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Ground black pepper to taste

Directions

In a large bowl mix all ingredients and knead until well combined.
Using your hands, form into flattened patties — they need to be firmly formed or they will break apart when you cook them.
Heat a grill or a grill pan to medium-high (if you’re using an outdoor grill generously oil the grill grates.) Place the koftas on the grill, taking care not to crowd them.
Cook for about 6 minutes on each side (try not to move them around too much though, or they will break apart.)
Serve them with a salad, or inside a bun with your favorite toppings!

Nutrition facts

One patty yields 325 calories, 24 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbs and 21 grams of protein.