August 18, 2022
Healthy Smashed Burger
Gluten-free | Sugar-free | Dairy-free
Serves: 2
While celebrating our Pub Classics week over on Facebook, I served up one of the most popular pub meals of them all, the classic burger. However, my burger is a little different, as I serve it in crunchy iceberg cups for a gluten-free green burger experience that packs a healthy yet tasteful punch.
Free from gluten, sugar and dairy, you can use beef, chicken, lamb or turkey mince, utilising a technique known as “Smashed burger”, which gives you a fantastic crunchy crisp edge to your patties.
Choose your fillings, fire up the barbecue or get your cast iron sear on with this delicious, finger-licking creation.
I love a good burger and am excited that I have a burger that I can eat happily and healthily! The smashed idea is a great way to give your pattie extra flavour and crunchy edges without adding extra fat.
Hints, Tips & Tricks
The filling for your “burger” is entirely up to you. Add or take away fillings depending on your taste. I went with a classic filling of tomato, fried onions, mustard and egg. (more ideas below)
You can make your pattie out of beef, lamb, chicken or turkey mince. It’s totally up to you!
This recipe requires Bridget's Sticky Sauce, a healthy cooking sauce I use in many of my recipes. It's simple, healthy and packs a lot of flavour without adding unnecessary calories. If you need the recipe, you can get it here.
I also use psyllium husk as a binding agent to ensure the ingredients hold together nicely. As psyllium husk is a soluble fibre and prebiotic, it also helps add more fibre to our diets. The recommended daily fibre intake is between 25 grams to 30 grams[1], and just one tablespoon of psyllium husk contains around 5 grams of fibre.
RECIPE
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 2 tbsp Bridget’s Sticky Sauce
- 2 eggs
- Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 300 g (10.5 oz) iceberg lettuce, broken into cups
- 1 tomato, sliced into rounds
- 2 tbsp sugar-free Dijon mustard ( I use and recommend Maille mustard)
For the patties
- 200 g (7 oz) of lean beef mince (ground)
- 1 tsp aromatic salt or mineral salt
- 2 tsp psyllium husks; see above for details
Optional extras
- avocado, halloumi cheese, pickled cucumbers, pickled onions, and fresh cucumber.
Method
- Make the fried onions by covering the rounds in 1 tbsp of sticky sauce. Add the rounds to a heavy-bottomed frying pan set at medium to high temperature. This pan should be big enough to cook your patties too.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan and cook the onions for 6-8 minutes until golden. Keep an eye on the onions, turning the rounds often so they don’t burn. You might need to add a little more water as they cook to prevent them from sticking to the pan. Alternatively, you can cook them in an air fryer set at 200C (390F) for 8 minutes.
- Make the patties by mixing the mince, aromatic salt and psyllium husks in a bowl with clean hands. Squish the mince through your fingers to ensure the salt and husks are well distributed.
- Weigh the pattie mixture into two 100 gram (3.5 oz) round balls and, using those clean hands, flatten or smash the pattie down to a round disc. Using the remaining sticky sauce, brush it over both sides of both patties.
- Using the same pan you cooked the onions in, heat the pan on medium to high heat and add a pattie. Using a flat metal spatula or egg slice, squish the pattie as it cooks, getting your edges well crisp and cooking the pattie through.
- Remove the cooked patties from the pan and turn the heat to medium. Crack the eggs into the pan, season with a bit of salt and pepper and place a lid over it. Cook the eggs to your liking ( I like mine sunny side up so that the yolks are runny and add moisture to the finished burger)
- Finish your burgers by taking 2 cups of the iceberg lettuce and laying the cooked pattie, onions, tomatoes and egg into the cups. Top with the mustard, and add any optional extras that you may have.
- Eat standing up, with lots of napkins at the ready.