I came up with this Delicious Spicy Beef Burgers recipe because I was desperate for a good gluten-free (and fructose-friendly) burger recipe. However, to my dismay, I couldn’t find one anywhere in the city that I was in!
Eventually, I spotted a burger chain across a road from a bar during a weekend and immediately thought of BURGER! There, I enjoyed my first burger in over four months – a Persian Lamb Burger that was served with a spicy yogurt in place of relish.
The burger inspired me to adapt a meatball recipe from a food magazine I was reading to fructose-friendly burger patties and add a simple mint yogurt to accompany the burger and bring more flavor and a new layer to the burger.
So here’s my Delicious Spicy Beef Burgers Recipe! Enjoy!
Delicious Spicy Beef Burgers
Print RecipeIngredients
- TO MAKE THE BURGERS:
- 1/2 tablespoon of garlic olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 50 grams of tomato puree
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
- 2 slices of gluten-free bread (the cheaper supermarket variety is fine), toasted
- 1 cup of flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 egg
- 500 grams lamb or lean beef mince
- TO MAKE THE MINT YOGURT:
- 1 cup of Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup of fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 red chili, finely chopped
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- FOR EXTRAS AND TOPPINGS:
- Fresh tomato (1/2 per person)
- Fresh greens – my favorite is rocket, although cos lettuce or fresh spinach leaves would be equally delicious
- Burger buns or good-quality gluten-free bread, toasted
- Anything extra you fancy
Instructions
1. Toast the cheap gluten-free bread in preparation for making breadcrumbs.
2. Mix the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, spices and salt in a small bowl.
3. Heat the 1/2-tablespoon of garlic olive oil in a frypan. Once hot, add the tomato paste mixture and cook on medium heat until the mixture becomes dark and sticky. Take off the heat and let cool. Allow the mixture to cool.
4. Place the two pieces of toasted bread in a food processor to make the breadcrumbs. I like to keep the breadcrumbs a bit chunky, but you can also make them fine.
5. In a large bowl, add the meat, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, egg and tomato paste mixture, and mix the ingredients well using your hands.
6. Don’t forget to mix with your hands!
7. Shape the mixture into small burger patties, around 10 centimeters in diameter and 3 centimeters thick. Place the burgers under a medium-hot grill for about 10 minutes on each side.
8. While the burgers are cooking, finely chop the mint leaves and the chili and add plain Greek yogurt (make sure you use unsweetened Greek yogurt). Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the yogurt and stir well.
9. Just before the burgers are ready to come out, lightly toast a gluten-free roll or two slices of good quality gluten-free bread, thinly slice the tomato, prepare a handful of rocket or fresh spinach leaves to serve.
10. Once the burgers are cooked through, assemble the burgers with one patty, a couple of slices of tomato, some lettuce and a large dollop of the mint and chili yogurt.
Note:
The burgers can also be cooked in a frying pan or on a BBQ.
