Sweet Chilli Mini-Burgers PDF Print E-mail
Written by Dalene Crafford   

(from the Good Food Diet)
 
Feeling sad and blue because you have taken your first steps on the “healthier lifestyle” road and now you’re not allowed to enjoy your favourite foods anymore? No more red meat. No more weekend braais. No more life. Don’t despair! These Sweet Chilli Mini-Burgers were developed just for you. They can be pan-fried (in a little oil!) or braaied and served with healthy salad ingredients. If you prefer, pop a mini-burger, together with some salad, into a pita bread, cut into four… and never look back again.


Sweet Chilli Mini-Burgers are:
  • heart-friendly wheat-free (serve with wheat-free bread)
  • gluten-free (provided you are not sensitive to the oats in the burger. Enjoy burgers on their own, with salad or serve with gluten-free bread.)
  • dairy-free and
  • egg-free.
500 g lean beef mince
60 ml (4 tbsp) uncooked oats
60 ml (4 tbsp) sweet chilli sauce (I use Wellington’s Sweet Chilli Sauce)
2,5 ml (½ tsp) salt
a little oil for frying
cayenne pepper to sprinkle over cooked burgers (optional, depending on taste)
extra salt to sprinkle over cooked burgers (if need be)

Step 1: Mix beef mince, oats, sweet chilli sauce and salt together thoroughly. Hands work best.

Step 2: Form mixture into 20 balls, then shape into mini-burgers by flattening each ball slightly (about 5,5 cm in diameter). The burgers should be rough, not neat and perfect.

Step 3: Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the burgers on both sides until cooked. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot or cold. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and/or salt if need be. Alternatively, braai burgers on a lightly oiled open or closed grid. (Makes 20 mini-burgers)

Tip: If you prefer something bigger, shape the mixture into 6 normal-sized burgers and pan-fry or braai. For your party platter, form the mixture into 30 - 35 cocktail meatballs and pan-fry in a little oil.

To serve:
  • You need 5 brown or whole-wheat pita breads. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut each pita bread into four. Heat the pita quarters in a microwave oven for a few seconds (they should still be soft – do not overheat or they will become hard and tough). Alternatively, lightly toast the whole pita breads in a dry frying pan or over the coals and then cut into quarters.
  • Serve with finely shredded red cabbage, sugarsnap peas, thinly sliced red onion and rocket leaves.
  • Serve mini-burgers and pita quarters on a large platter, together with bowls of wild rocket and a salsa made of diced tomato, chopped cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, seasoned with apple cider vinegar, salt and black pepper.
  • You can also add bowls of avocado wedges, sprinkled with black pepper and drizzled with lemon juice, diagonally sliced banana and fresh pineapple cut into triangles.
  • Serve at a picnic or pack into your lunchbox. Pack burgers, pita quarters and salad separately.
Born in the USA? From Russia with love? Where do hamburgers really come from?
 
I always thought that hamburgers and the Stars and Stripes shared the same mother country. I could never understand why a beef burger patty in a bread roll is called a hamburger. Where did the ham go?

There are many controversial stories as to where, when and how the hamburger originated. Many American people, towns and counties claimed their pound of flesh of its fabulous fame. They all wanted to be known as the inventor of this super-popular fast food. They were all wrong.

One name that crops up all the time in hamburger history is the seaport city of Hamburg, Germany. Seamen from Hamburg used to trade with the Baltic provinces of Russia and there they learnt a trick of the trade: grinding and shredding tough, hard salted meat and forming a beef cake. This was the primitive ancestor of the hamburger. At the time no one could have guessed that it would ever be called fast food!

In the late 1800s, Hamburg was Germany’s gateway to the New World. It was the port from which many Germans left their home country to emigrate to America. On the Hamburg-American liners, hamburgers (now in a more refined form) were often served and referred to as “Hamburg steaks”. Later it was abbreviated to “hamburgers”. Eventually “burger” became a word in its own right, referring to any type of patty: chicken, turkey, lamb, fish, vegetarian or whatever people were willing to buy.

Once the hamburger landed in America, it grew and grew in popularity. The bread roll and all the extras were added… and the rest is history.


Dalene Crafford is a recipe developer, cookery team-build presenter, food stylist, and lover of (good) food and wine. To find out more about the Good Food Diet, contact Dalene at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or on 021 913 4457 or 082 562 9787, or visit Dalene's page at www.conca.co.za.