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| Burger with foie, Restaurant Raf, Barcelona |
Such a pity that fast-food chains like McDonalds have vilified burgers for they can be nourishing and delicious meals ( sad, sad face), especially when served with salads or vegetables ( and why not, a glass of wine!). Happily, many restaurants have taken up the challenge to prove how healthy and delicious they actually can be, and, SUCCEEDED!
Ok, enough talk, here are some delicious burgers I have scarfed:
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| Chilli hamburger in Déja-burg, Barcelona |
There is a restaurant near mine which serves a wide variety of burgers, called Déja-burg - the word play doesn't make much sense but maybe the owners thought that the Frenchified name would make it sound chic? Who knows...Anyway, the chilli topped hamburger I had was quite good, messy but good! Warning: Definitely not recommended food on a date as you will be splaying out bits of chilli as you eat. Happily, I was with a close friend and she was splaying food out too! Phew!
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| Burger with foie and caramelised onions, Alba, Barcelona |
In yet another restaurant, I had a hand cut sirloin steak stuffed with foie and topped with caramelised onions. Dee-lish-us! The accompanying mustards á l'ancienne and 'dijon' went so well with this - for there is an inherent chemistry of mustard with meat. In the background, you can see the delicious dish of roast veggies I had with this. McDonalds, eat your heart out!
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| Hamburger in Hotel Meliá Banus, Marbella |
Sometimes, all my little heart wants is a simple hamburger with a salad, nothing more and nothing less. Am not a huge fan of doughy baps as they can be quite dry BUT, this hamburger was delicious and once I lavishly lathered on the mustard, ate it too fast for the bap to dry.
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| Homemade hamburger |
Have you ever done a burger party? I do it once in a while and what you do is either make or buy some good quality meat patties and on the side, chop/slice/peel/lay on a table, a variety of all the ingredients and condiments that could go into making Burger Bliss - lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, gherkins, herbs, onions, ketchup, mayo, ali-oli, mustard etc. Get your bbq ready and as your guests arrive, hand them the drink of their choice and cook their patty to their liking. They can then DIY their burger! Neat idea or wot!? This party is successful among adults and children alike so go on, summer is coming, start preparing...
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| Homemade burger |
A very dear friend of mine, who didn't consider herself to be much of a cook, taught me one of the most delicious ways to make a burger that I know of:
A'S CARAMELIZED ONION BURGERS
Serves 2
Ingredients:
300 gm beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
Breadcrumbs as needed
1 egg
Salt n pepper
Chives/parsley optional
Method:
In a heavy base frying pan, fry the onions on low heat until caramelised - be careful to not scorch them! Once the onions are satisfactorily cooked and, cooled, add them to the other ingredients in a bowl and mix and then shape into 2 patties. Cook these to your liking in the remaining oil in the frying pan. ENJOY!
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| Burger with onion marmalade, Cafe Charlotte, Barcelona |
how do you make onion marmalade and how long can you store it at room temperature in a sealed sterile jar ?
ReplyDeletenot a quizz I am interested !
Thanks
Ed
Try this:
DeleteHeat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add 1kg red onions and cook very gently for 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft and caramelising. Add a third of 150 gm sugar and cook for another 15 minutes. Now add the rest of the sugar, 150 ml red wine vinegar, 125 ml port or red wine, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and salt and peppar
Simmer on your lowest heat until the liquid has reduced and the onions are dark and sticky. This will depend on your pan, approx. 30-45 mins. You should be able to run a wooden spoon through and leave the pan clean underneath.
Pot while hot into warm sterilised jars and seal with vinegar-proof lids. Store in a cool dry place and use within 3 months. Keep in the fridge once opened and use within a couple of weeks.
To sterilise your jars, put clean, dry jars on a baking tray and into a cold oven. Heat to 150°C/Gas 1-2 then heat for a minimum of 15 minutes. Fill the hot onion mixture into hot jars straight from the oven; fill right to the top and use a skewer to poke out any air holes. Then screw on the lids and turn upside down for 10 minutes to sterilise the lids.