ASIAN BEEF PATTIES / NAKED BURGERS

These Asian beef patties are a favourite of mine to make, as they are light, filling and delicious. I call them 'naked burgers' as you can eat them (and should eat them for dinner) without any bread; instead they can be eaten 'naked' as they are or wrapped in lettuce leaves. Make sure you consume a vegetable side when eating these as they are low in veges. 

INGREDIENTS

• 500g lean minced beef
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce 
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 egg, preferably free-range 
• 2 tablespoons shallots finely chopped
• Optional - 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1/2 a small red capsicum, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• Optional - Lettuce leaves (to wrap the patties in)

COOKING 

1. Combine beef, chilli, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, egg, shallots, coriander (if using), capsicum and a pinch of ground black pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands, mould the mixture into four even-sized patties. Place on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes. 

2. When the 15 minutes is up, heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the oil, swirling to coat the pan. Place patties in the pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side, covered. Check if the patties are cooked by cutting a patty in half and seeing if any red flesh remains; if it does, continue cooking. 

3. Serve warm with a vegetable side, such as a salad, steamed corn or sweet potato fries. 

Serves / 4 accompanied by a side 

Total Preparation time / 30 minutes (including 15 minutes in the fridge)

Total Cooking time / under 10 minutes 

x Emily 

POLENTA CHICKEN PATTIES

I devised these little polenta patties after looking at an old Asian chicken patty recipe of mine. You can make this patty a little more Mexican by adding some ground or fresh chilli, if you can handle it! I love creating simple recipes like this that can be eaten as a snack or as a main meal. Make sure you let the patties rest after cooking them on the stove, as the chicken continues to cook during this time. 

Ingredients

• 500g free range chicken mince
• 1 free range egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup polenta
• 1 medium carrot, grated 
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 a medium capsicum (any colour), finely chopped 
• 3 teaspoons taco seasoning 
• pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil 
• Optional - 1 medium avocado, 2 tomatoes, sliced and a few generous handfuls of baby spinach leaves 

Cooking 

1. Combine the mince, egg, polenta, carrot, spring onion, capsicum, taco seasoning and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Mix well to combine all ingredients (using your hands works best!). 

2. Shape the mixture into 8 even sized patties. 

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the patties to the pan, making sure to flatten each one down with a spatula. Cook for one side for 3 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side for 2 minutes. Remove the patties from the stove and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Serve warm on a bed of baby spinach, tomato and a quarter of an avocado each. 

Serves / 4 / 2 patties each + a serving of salad 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 10 minutes 

x Emily 

TURKEY BURGERS

If you have never cooked with turkey mince before, I urge you to try these burgers! Super simple and hassle-free, they are a great alternative to beef patties. The egg and breadcrumbs in the mince mixture makes the patties easy to shape and the cooking time is minimal. As turkey is native to Northern Mexico & Eastern U.S Australians would be forgiven for not knowing much about these wild birds. Here are such a few of the healthy benefits of consuming turkey:

1.  It is a rich source of protein, iron, zinc and potassium.

2.     Skinless turkey is very low in fat (white meat is lower in calories and has less fat than darker meat)

3.     Turkey is a great source of Vitamin B6 & Niacin, which are both crucial for the production of energy in our bodies.

4.     Eating turkey on a regular basis can assist in lowering cholesterol levels.

5.     Turkey is a source of Selenium, which is fundamental for thyroid hormone metabolism. Selenium also increases your immunity and acts as an antioxidant.

6.     This white meat contains the amino acid Trytophan, which produces Serotonin in the body. Serotonin controls many functions in your body (including the ability to balance your mood, appetite, memory, sleep, muscle movement, learning and much more). 

If those benefits did not convince you, I'll leave you with this note; I rarely ever cook anything twice and have I made these burgers three times in the past week & a half! 

INGREDIENTS

• 500g lean turkey mince
• 2 slices of of multigrain / wholemeal or gluten-free bread, processed or blended into fine breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, preferably free-range
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard or 2 teaspoons yellow mustard powder
• 2 heaped tablespoons fresh or dried thyme leaves
• rice bran oil 
• Optional- herbs to garnish such as a few fresh coriander leaves
• Burger fillings, such as tomato, cucumber, beetroot, lettuce, avocado, capsicum, grated carrot. 

COOKING 

1. Combine mince, breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, mustard and thyme in a large mixing bowl and mix well (you may need to use your hands to mix all the ingredients so make sure your hands are washed). Now comes the fun part - shaping the burger patties! I find that I can comfortably make 6 patties/burgers out of the mince mixture, however you can minimise this to 4 bigger patties if you wish. Shape into rounds, flatten patties slightly and place on a large plate covered with glad wrap. Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 10 minutes. 

2. During the 10 minutes, prepare your burger fillings. 

3. After the 10 minutes, remove the patties from the fridge. Heat 1 tablespoon of rice bran oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat or on a bbq. Cook patties for around 4-5 minutes each side, flattening the burgers as you go. Make sure that burgers are cooked in the middle and no pink flesh remains. 

Serve burger in a wholemeal/multigrain/gluten-free bread bun with desired fillings or serve san choy bau style with the burger wrapped in a big iceberg lettuce leave with the fillings inside; this way you avoid the bread and the stodgy carbs that come with it! 

Serves / 4 (1 big patty each or 1 1/2 smaller patties)

Total Preparation time / 20-25 minutes (including 10 minutes refrigeration time)

Total Cooking time / 10 minutes 

x Emily

BEEF BURGERS STUFFED WITH CHEESE

Not a super healthy burger, however it was based on such a recipe from one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbooks so I think it deserves a place on this blog. This is one of the tastiest burgers I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. I think it has something to do with the cheese being stuffed inside the meat patty. Keep the cheese light, the lettuce and tomato undressed and you will have quite a healthy dinner. For healthier, ditch the wheat bun and try gluten-free bread instead. 

INGREDIENTS

500g extra lean beef mince

 75g red onion, finely chopped

  2 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 free range egg, lightly beaten

  a pinch of sea salt & pepper

4 tablespoons of reduced-fat grated cheese (1 tablespoon for each beef patty)

 2 teaspoons olive oil

4 whole meal/multigrain rolls

Optional:

 1 tomato, sliced

1/2 Lebanese cucumber, sliced

  a handful of any kind of lettuce (I used rocket), washed

mustard, low-fat mayonnaise

COOKING

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small frying pan under low heat. Add onion, garlic, rosemary and basil and cook for around 3-4 minutes or until onion is soft.

2. Allow the onion to cool, then add to a large bowl with beef mince, egg, salt & pepper. Combine the ingredients together with your hands and form 8 small burgers. Place 1 tablespoon of cheese onto the top of 4 burgers and then sandwich these burgers with the remaining 4 burgers, pinching the edges together.

3. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over low-medium heat. Cook the burgers for around 5-6 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for 5 minutes on the other side. Flip the burgers again and make sure than they are browned; if not, continue cooking for a few more minutes on each side.

4. Serve on rolls or hamburgers with whatever fillings you desire (a list of my favourite choices are under ‘Optional). 

Serves / 4 

x E

POTATO BURGERS

I wish I could say that I came up with this amazingly creative ‘Potato Burger’ recipe, but sadly I did not. (The June Issue of Food Ideas can take that credit). As long as the potatoes are kept at a medium size, they are a healthier alternative to bread or hamburger buns and are also gluten & dairy-free. If this recipe terrifies you due to the amount of carbs in it, try it for a Saturday or Sunday lunch instead. It really is a delicious substitute for bread and is also more fun to make and more aesthetically pleasing. Minus the cheese and other condiments, this recipe is quite low in fat. If you have an hour on your hands, this would be a way to really impress lunch / dinner guests. Damn Food Ideas for coming up with it and not me!

INGREDIENTS

• 500g extra lean beef mince
• 4 medium (150g each) sebago potatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 small brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or minced
• 3 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
• 1 medium tomato, finely sliced
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil (liquid)
• a handful of baby spinach leaves, washed
• Optional- light grated cheese 

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Scrub potatoes well, with a brush, under cold water. Dry gently with a tea-towel and place on the baking tray. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender, if is, a knife can easily be inserted into the middle without any resistance. 

2. Whilst the potatoes are baking, combine the mince, herbs, tomato paste, onion and garlic in a large bowl, mixing well. With damp hands, shape the mince mixture into 4 even sized beef patties and flatten slightly. 

3. Heat  coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the patties, spacing them apart. Cook the burgers for 4 to 5 minutes on either side, making sure that no red colour remains (you may need to cut one patty apart to see this).  When beef is cooked, remove from heat. 

4. When potatoes are cooked, gently cut each in half. Place baby spinach and tomato on top of the potato base, along with a cooked beef patty and another potato half. You may need to use toothpicks to hold the burgers together. Serve with mayonnaise, tomato relish or tomato sauce if you wish. You are welcome to add cheese if not dairy intolerant. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 20 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 60 minutes / 1 hour 

x E

CHILLI HERB BEEF PATTIES

I love nothing more than a fridge filled with fresh herbs. As I have been extremely lazy and have not started my own herb garden as of yet (a new years resolution for 2012 mind you) I buy herbs far too frequently. More often than not, I will only use a little of the herbs and the rest will become too soggy to salvage. This week however I am dedicated to using all of my herbs up! I have basil, I have parsley, I have chives and I have coriander and I am determined to use them all. Hence came the inspiration for these herb patties. If you are not a fan of chilli, decrease the amount to ½ or ¼ a teaspoon.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g lean minced beef
• 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tamari oyster sauce (GF)
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1/2 a small red capsicum, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
• To serve- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds & tamari soy sauce 

COOKING 

1. Combine beef, chilli, fish sauce, oyster sauce, capsicum and herbs in a large bowl. Using your hands, shape even patties (around 3-4 tablespoons of mixture) into patties. This should make around 9-10 patties. Place on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. 

2. When 15 minutes is up, heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add oil, swirling to coat the pan. Place patties in pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Check if the patties are cooked by cutting a patty in half and seeing if any red flesh remains; if it does, continue cooking. When patties are cooked place on a few sheets of paper towel to remove excess oil. 

3. Serve warm with tamari soy sauce & sesame seeds, if you desire. 

Serves / 3-4 

Total Preparation time / 30 minutes (including 15 minutes to chill)

Total Cooking time / under 10 minutes 

x E