Low Fat Burger & Chips

I’ve not ordered a burger in months, well if you don’t count my 3am swing by the chipper on the way home from a night out. Those trips don’t count people!!! I never order burgers when we go out to eat and I certainly don’t cook them. I always think burgers =  calorie city!! So as a treat this weekend I decided that yes I was having a burger and I was having it the low fat way!

First things first, when trying to revise a burger recipe to cut the calorie load is to choose healthy burger buns. I choose wholegrain multi seed buns as the carrier for my burger. These are much healthier than floury baps, or even plain white buns.

Secondly of course is the burger its self! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, minced turkey meat is a fantastic alternative to mince beef and can be substituted in almost all recipes. I’m adding exotic flavours to my burger to enhance the mince, this burger has a Thai twist with a zesty, chilli and herby kick. I’m using a cheats sweet chilli mayo as the topping for the burger, giving it that extra bit of heat.

You can’t have a burger without chips (fries) in my opinion. I’m using sweet potato and they are being twice cooked to ensure and floury texture inside and a crispy coating outside the chips. And to marry the chips with the burger, a gentle sprinkle of cumin powder is sprinkled over the chips when cooked for a second time.

Et voila, you have burger and chips with half the guilt. You could go bunless if you’re worried about the carbs, but sometimes, life’s just too short you know!!! Make it your treat of the week!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Burger

·         500g turkey mince

·         1 egg

·         100g breadcrumbs

·         Juice of lime

·         1 garlic clove, grated

·         1 thumb size ginger piece, peeled and grated

·         2 tbsp of fresh chopped mint and coriander

·         1 large green chilli, diced

·         4 finely chopped large spring onions

·         1 tbsp of cumin seeds

·         Salt and pepper

Sweet Chilli Mayo

·         3 tbsp of mayo

·         1 ½ tbsp of sweet chilli sauce

Chips (Fries)

·         3 sweet potatoes

·         1 tbsp of ground cumin

·         Sea salt

Optional Low-Fat Burger Toppings

·         Lettuce

·         Tomato

·         Avocado

·         Pineapple

·         Sliced red onion

·         Gerkins

·         Turkey rasher

Method

1.       Prepare the burgers in advance, giving them at least 30 minutes in the fridge to firm up.

2.       In a large bowl, add all the burger ingredients, and combine well so everything is incorporated. I find using your hands is best for this.

3.       Shape 4 burgers out of the burger mixture, place them on a plate, cover with cling and chill for 30 minutes. (these are very big burgers, being realistic you could make 6-7 burger patties, but these are more whoppers than patties)

4.       To make your mayo, simply mix some mayo and sweet chilli sauce in a bowl.

5.       Preheat the oven to 190 degrees

6.       Chop the sweet potatoes, leaving the skin on, into chunky chips.

7.       Put them in a  saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

8.       Drain them and allow them to steam to draw out the moisture for a few minutes.

9.       Keeping them in the saucepan pour over a tbsp of oil and the cumin powder and shake the pan to allow for even distribution.

10.   Scatter them on a lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

11.   Likewise, place the turkey burgers on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes also, turning the burgers half way through.

12.   Ensure that the burgers are cooked through fully, if not cook for another 4-5 minutes.

13.   To plate up, toast your buns and smear the sweet chilli sauce over the buns, add your preferred toppings and then your burger. Serve with the cumin sweet potato chips.

There you have it, a low fat take on the much loved Burger and Chips