A favorite meal these days is inspired by the old fashioned practice of making soup with what vegetables you have in the refrigerator, garden, etc. but instead of adding them to a pot to make broth or soup, we add them to ground meat of some kind. The result is a really delicious and nourishing protein patty. We've made these with both ground beef and turkey and I am surprised to say that I prefer the beef. We haven't tried ground lamb but I'm going to do so this week. We normally do not serve these as traditional burgers. Instead, we make Italian flatbreads, that require no rising and cook very quickly in a skillet, similarly to cooking Indian naan. We've also eaten these with a side of a hearty grain. We always make a cabbage slaw or some other salad and use whatever is in our house at the time to find inspiration. I don't like over-purchasing and wasting so this meal is a great means to enjoy all the produce you have in your kitchen.
Ingredients:
1-2lbs ground protein (we use 2lbs for 6 people who basically all eat like adults)
1-2 cups chopped vegetables and herbs. My favorite combinations are broccoli, parsley, onions, swiss chard, and carrots. You'll need to chop the vegetables small enough so they easily mix into your protein. A dice sized vegetable works very well.
Salt and pepper to taste
Greens for side salad
Grains or flatbreads
Directions:
Dice vegetables and mix together. Add the vegetables to your protein as you might knead bread. Add salt and pepper to taste. Form into meatball sized shapes or burgers depending upon your use. Heat a skillet and add a bit of oil to the pan. Cook about 5 minutes/side but using a quick read thermometer is not a bad idea. The inside should not be pink or red but you also don't want the burgers to be dry. The vegetables seem to help maintain moisture. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest.
Assemble a side salad or slaw to top the burgers. We like red and green cabbage, onion and radish. An arugula, red onion salad is also nice. For the slaw, shave the cabbages thinly and slice the onion and radish thinly too. Salt and pepper and drizzle with red wine or apple cider vinegar and olive, grapeseed or avocado oil. Adjust to your taste. For the arugula option, place the arugula in your salad bowl and add thinly sliced red onion to top. Sprinkle salt over the onions and some vinegar. Allow the onions to macerate in this way to reduce some of the sharpness of the onions. Allow to rest about 10 minutes and then toss with the oil and maybe more vinegar, salt and pepper.
If you use flatbreads, you could freshen them by quick frying them in a dry, hot cast-iron skillet. No more than 30 seconds each side or until they're warm and a little charred. If you want to make a grain, just choose your favorite grain and serve on side or beneath the burgers.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1-2lbs ground protein (we use 2lbs for 6 people who basically all eat like adults)
1-2 cups chopped vegetables and herbs. My favorite combinations are broccoli, parsley, onions, swiss chard, and carrots. You'll need to chop the vegetables small enough so they easily mix into your protein. A dice sized vegetable works very well.
Salt and pepper to taste
Greens for side salad
Grains or flatbreads
Directions:
Dice vegetables and mix together. Add the vegetables to your protein as you might knead bread. Add salt and pepper to taste. Form into meatball sized shapes or burgers depending upon your use. Heat a skillet and add a bit of oil to the pan. Cook about 5 minutes/side but using a quick read thermometer is not a bad idea. The inside should not be pink or red but you also don't want the burgers to be dry. The vegetables seem to help maintain moisture. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest.
Assemble a side salad or slaw to top the burgers. We like red and green cabbage, onion and radish. An arugula, red onion salad is also nice. For the slaw, shave the cabbages thinly and slice the onion and radish thinly too. Salt and pepper and drizzle with red wine or apple cider vinegar and olive, grapeseed or avocado oil. Adjust to your taste. For the arugula option, place the arugula in your salad bowl and add thinly sliced red onion to top. Sprinkle salt over the onions and some vinegar. Allow the onions to macerate in this way to reduce some of the sharpness of the onions. Allow to rest about 10 minutes and then toss with the oil and maybe more vinegar, salt and pepper.
If you use flatbreads, you could freshen them by quick frying them in a dry, hot cast-iron skillet. No more than 30 seconds each side or until they're warm and a little charred. If you want to make a grain, just choose your favorite grain and serve on side or beneath the burgers.
Enjoy!
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