Healthy Burgers for Hollowen
Put some sizzle in your Summer
There can be no celebration of the summer's grilling season without a nod to the North American classic: the burger. All the food groups in one place and you don't even need a fork. With varieties that stretch from basic beef to fish to exotic meats, there's something for everyone. And there are so many great veggie burgers out there that vegetarians aren't missing out on the fun, either.
With variety and volume ranging from land to grand, it's nearly impossible to discuss just one favourite. Yet everybody has an ideal, that quintessential burger against which all others measure.
But don't take "simplicity" to mean mindless ease. The best burgers don't come from that cylinder of puck-like frozen stacked patties pulled from the recesses of the grocer's freezer. The humble burger deserves more respect than that. The fresher the patty the better, be it in a backyard or a restaurant.
Made with about 85 per cent ground chuck and 15 per cent ground blade for extra juiciness, basic burgers are grilled with a little coarsely ground pepper and salt and served with lettuce, onion and a generous slice of tomato.
Burger
Per burger (without condiments): 287 calories, 9.4 g fat (3 g saturated, 4 g monounsaturated, 1.1 g polyunsaturated), 28.2 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 74.8 mg cholesterol, 2.3 g fi ber. 30% calories from fat.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (1 kg) of ground Alberta lamb (shoulder)
- 1 small onion fi nely diced
- 1 tsp sriracha*
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- *Smooth orangey-red chili sauce
Instructions
- mix all ingredients well in bowl. Form 8 patties and cook on preheated medium barbecue until fi rm and evenly browned, but still juicy. Allow a minute to rest. Assemble burgers on a good quality whole-wheat bun with a teaspoon of spicy mango chutney and 5 or 6 slices of chili-minted cucumbers.
Spicy Mango Mayonnaise
Per tablespoon: 76 calories, 7.4 g fat (0.7 g saturated, 4.1 g monounsaturated, 2.5 g polyunsaturated), 0 g protein, 2.6 g carbohydrate, 5.4 mg cholesterol, 2.3 g fi ber. 86% calories from fat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 mL) mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) mango chutney
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) honey
- 1 tsp (5 mL) sriracha*
- 1 tsp (5 mL) curry powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- *Smooth orangey-red chili sauce
Instructions
Chili-Minted Cucumbers
- 1 cucumber
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp (2mL) sambal olek**
- A few fresh mint leaves
- whole
- **Coarser chili sauce with visible fl akes and seeds
Instructions
- marinate cucumber slices for 5 minutes.
