Lime & Oregano Lamb Patties

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Being frugal I tend to only buy food items that are on special (reduced in price). Also, we live rurally so it's not so easy to just pop to the shops to grab needed ingredients. Sadly this means I can't always recreate all the amazing recipes I see online or in magazines. I'll either wait until the particular ingredients are cheaper, or I adapt recipes and use alternative ingredients.

However, this predicament has its upsides. It means I end up free-styling meals; creating new recipes from what we happen to have in the cupboards that week. I really do enjoy free-stying in the kitchen, it's definitely fun and satisfying creating your own unique meals from what you have at hand. An example of this is the recipe I'm sharing today, for these amazing lime and oregano lamb patties. We've just moved towns and our pantry is a mish mash of random ingredients at the moment as we slowly start to stock it up.

So last week I decided to jazz up our 'on special' lamb mince with the few items I had at hand that I thought would give it some zing. Thankfully it turned out pretty damn amazing so this recipe is now definitely a keeper. The patties are moist and the citrus, herb and chilli imparts a delicious layer of freshness and zing to the robust flavour of the lamb. They are great as burger patties or on their own or with sides. If you don't have all of the ingredients feel free to adapt it yourself, e.g try lemons instead of limes, swap the oregano for another herb like coriander, or substitute the soy sauce with any other sauce or chutney. Who knows, you might invent a new favourite too.                  

Lime & Oregano Lamb Patties (makes approx 8)

Ingredients:

600g lamb mince
Grated zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
1 green chilli, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method:

Mix all of the ingredients until well combined.
Shape into 5cm patties.
Fry in a pan on medium-hot heat for just a couple of minutes each side. Can also be grilled or barbecued.