Mini lamb burgers

Makes 10

Mini lamb burgers (Jason Lowe)

Lamb mince generally contains a decent amount of fat to keep burgers moist during cooking – and it means they won’t be too dry when you get round to eating them.

300g good-quality minced lamb
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A little vegetable or corn oil for brushing
10 mini burger buns

For the relish

½ a cucumber, halved lengthways and the seeds scooped out
2 shallots, peeled, halved and finely chopped
1tsp black mustard seeds
1tbsp caster sugar
1tbsp cider vinegar
12 or so mint leaves, chopped

Mould the lamb mince into 10 flat patties, using your mini burger buns as a guideline for size. You can also use a pastry cutter. Once done, refrigerate them until required.

Put the shallots in a pan with the mustard seeds, sugar and vinegar, add a few tablespoons of water and simmer until you have about 1 tablespoon of liquid left. Meanwhile, cut the cucumber into ½cm dice, add to the shallot mixture, stir on the heat for 20 seconds or so, then remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl; leave to cool. Finally, stir in the mint.

Heat a ribbed griddle or heavy frying pan, season the burgers, brush with a little oil and cook for 40-50 seconds on each side, keeping them nice and pink.

Meanwhile, toast or warm the burger buns. Cut the buns in half, serve the burgers with the cucumber relish, or separately, if you prefer.