Day One-Hundred Five - Lamb Slider Patties with Pomegranate Molasses (5.18.14)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, divided
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pound lean ground lamb
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• cooking spray

Instructions

1. Combine 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, mint, and the next 7 ingredients (through garlic); stir to combine. Divide mixture into 16 equal portions; gently shape each into a 1/4-inch-thick patty. 
2. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Place patties on a platter; lightly brush patties with remaining 1 tablespoon molasses. 

Opinions

Potter: This dish has a lot in common with the chicken pitas we made earlier in the week. Again, an incredibly unique flavor. This time however I couldn't handle it. It may have been because I was slightly hungover and my stomach just wasn't ready for anything this rich but regardless I did not like this one. Which sucks because we've had some really good lamb dishes so far and Katie did a great job preparing this one, it just wasn't for me. 

Katie: I agree with Potter that this dish had an incredibly unique flavor. The flavor was also very bold. However, compared to the chicken pitas, I was able to handle this one more. The prep and cooking was straight forward and pretty quick; it took about 30 minutes total. Many cooks out there most likely have this down, but since I am a novice, cooking on the grill pan did have some hiccups. First let me state that I really don't like cooking with oil/cooking spray over high heat...there is just something about it and I haven't quite caught on to doing it well yet. Practice makes perfect (well, better) though. I had to keep a close eye and initially didn't keep the patties on long enough so had to put them on for round two which was a total of about 30 seconds. That effort though did result in some of the patties having a slightly charred outside - oops! I'll keep practicing. All in all though the dish turned out well despite Potter not enjoying the flavor.