Who says that eating burgers are bad for your health? Not all burgers are guilty on bringing up unhealthy fats and calories in your body. Burgers can also be defined as a healthy food depending on the certain ingredients you are going to use in cooking your own burger. It's not the burger's fault that you burger monsters are unhealthy, but it's the ingredients of the burger that's making you unhealthy and of course, fat.
But not to worry anymore because here is a recipe for another scrumptious mouth-watering burger which is made out of mushrooms and grains! You can make this in your kitchen and can also use this as an alternative food for your healthy diet.
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| photo taken from www.nytimes.com |
Ingredients:
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/4 pounds mushrooms, sliced
Salt to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 cups cooked brown rice or barley
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
3/4 cup cooked chickpeas (1/2 can)
2 ounces Gruyère cheese, sliced very thin with a cheese slicer
Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over
medium heat in a heavy ovenproof skillet and add the onion. Cook,
stirring, until it is tender, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat up to
medium-high and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until the
mushrooms have begun to sweat and soften, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat
back down to medium, add a generous pinch of salt, the garlic and sage,
and continue to cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes.
Taste, adjust seasoning and remove from the heat.
2. Place half the mushrooms in a food processor fitted with the steel
blade and the other half in a large bowl, along with the rice or barley
and the parsley.
3. Add the chickpeas and egg to the food processor and purée with the
mushrooms. Stir into the rice and mushroom mixture and mix everything
together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Begin heating a heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.
Seasoned cast iron is good, and so is a heavy nonstick pan that can go
into the oven. Moisten your hands lightly and shape 4 large or 6 smaller
patties. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and, working in
batches if necessary, cook the burgers for 2 minutes on one side, until
nicely browned. Carefully turn the patties over and place the pan in
the oven. Bake 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and lay thin
slices of Gruyère on top of each burger. Return to the oven and bake for
another 5 minutes, or the patties are lightly browned and the cheese
has melted. Remove from the heat and serve, with or without buns,
ketchup and the works.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
For advance preparation: these can be put together and
shaped up to 3 days before browning. Keep them well wrapped in the
refrigerator. They can also be cooked ahead and reheated in a low oven
or in a pan on top of the stove.
Nutritional information per serving: (4 servings): 285
calories; 14 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated
fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 62 milligrams cholesterol; 28 grams
carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 196 milligrams sodium (does not
include salt to taste); 14 grams protein
There you go, a complete procedure on how to make your own lesser fat calories, mushroom and grain cheeseburger. You cannot blame other unhealthy burgers for it's calories and fat contents, but you can make your own burgers healthy and delicious too! Always remember that you are what you eat, so as much as possible, let's keep our diet balance and stay healthy!
sources of information: www.nytimes.com
