Posts Tagged 'burger'

Haddock Burgers

Published November 12, 2009 Lunch , Recipe , Weight Watchers Leave a Comment
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I’m a huge fan of burgers. Massive burgers that leave me with a dislocated jaw. I would probably be happy eating burgers everyday. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration but you know what I mean. Even if I were to eat burgers everyday, I would eventually get bored and I’d have to find another type of meat to fill my hamburger bun. I could use chicken but why not try fish? This idea comes from that much-used Weight Watchers cookbook I’ve been working my way through. These burgers are worth 6 points each.

Haddock Burgers, makes two

2 haddock fillets (or cod or halibut)

2 kaiser buns, preferably whole-wheat

Tomato cut into thick slices

Lettuce

Red onion cut into slices

Old cheddar cheese cut into slices

For tartar sauce:

2 tbsp mayo

2 or 3 mini pickles, minced

1 tsp capers, minced

Set the oven to broil. Spray olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper over fish fillets and place on a baking sheet then set aside. Mix the mayo, pickles, and capers together in a small bowl. You could also puree them to get a smoother consistency for the tartar sauce. I tried using my Magic Bullet but the amount was too small and it all ended up smeared against the sides of the container. When the oven is heated place the fillets inside and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked. I am terrible at judging when something looks cooked so I tend to cook things a little bit longer than suggested.

Assemble sandwiches with the tartar sauce, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cheese, and of course the fish fillets.

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Pita Burgers

Published October 7, 2009 Dinner , Recipe , Yum! Leave a Comment
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I was craving a nice healthy custom made burger last night. In my opinion, these are the best kinds of burgers because you can add whatever the hell you feel like adding to a mound of ground beef (or pork or chicken). Unfortunately, when it came time to dress my burger I realized I didn’t have bread, let alone burger buns. I felt instantly crushed and I was already mentally preparing myself to eat a bun-less patty when I saw a bag of pita bread on the counter. Could I make this work? Yeah!

Recipe for 4 burger patties

1 tbsp oil or butter

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1/2 small zucchini, shredded

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 or 3 chopped pickled jalapeño peppers

1 egg

¼  cup rolled oats

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp ground pepper

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Large pita bread cut into 4 sections

In a pan or skillet sauté the onion in oil over medium heat. Remove the onions, set aside, and put the mushrooms in the pan to cook until they release their water. Put the onions back in the pan along with the zucchini until it’s just tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In a medium size bowl, mix the ground beef, garlic, jalapeño peppers, egg, rolled oats, paprika, ground pepper, Worcestershire sauce and the sautéed onions, mushrooms and zucchini. Shape into four patties and fry over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Place in a quarter piece of pita bread and dress however you like.

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Bean Burger

Published August 2, 2009 Dinner , Must repeat , Recipe , Vegetarian Leave a Comment
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I was flipping through my vegetarian cookbook, waiting for something to grab my attention. My eyes were drawn to a bean burger recipe I knew I had to try. Not only was I attracted to the photo, but I was also happy to note the cooking and prep time were minimal.

Bean Burgers

Makes four patties (so the book says)

1 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for brushing

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

4 oz white mushrooms, finely chopped

15 oz canned pinto or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used cilantro)

salt and pepper

all-purpose flour, for dusting

hamburger buns

Preheat broiler to medium high. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Mash the beans with a fork and then stir the beans into the mushroom mixture and add salt and pepper. Divide the mixture equally  into 4 portions, dust lightly with flour and shape into flat, round patties. Brush with oil and cook under broiler for 4-5 minutes on each side. I served the burgers with a side of McCain Xtra Crispy Superfries, which by the way are awesome.

Here’s what I did wrong:

1. When I tried to mash the beans with a fork I quickly realized it would take an hour to mash them that way so I brought out my magic bullet and put it to work. I may have pureed the beans a little too much though. They were too soft, like bean dip.

2. I made the patties too thick. I probably could have made 6 patties.

3. I forgot to grease the baking sheet.

What came out of the oven were a couple of very soft bean cakes. They looked nothing like the burger in the book; juicy and meat-like. However, they smelled incredible so I ignored the fact that they didn’t look amazing and I proceeded to scrape, slide and nudge the resistant patties onto burger buns. I dressed the burgers with cheese, tomato and pickled peppers. Essentially I was eating bean dip in a burger bun. Really, really amazing and delicious bean dip. Jay said they were more like Sloppy Joes. He has given me an idea for a future project to make these bean burgers again but they will be Sloppy Joes with pico de gallo. Mexican Sloppy Joes?

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