Veggie stuffed burger with rutabaga fries and pan fried zucchini.
Updated: Mar 29, 2019
Ingredients: One zucchini, One rutabaga root, 1lbs (500 gr.) ground beef, whatever veggies you have in your fridge in right now.
Let's start with the fries, as they go in the oven and take the longest. Peel the rutabaga and cut to desired size fries (here I made 1/4'' (half a cm) wide strips). Put in ziploc bag, add 1/4 cup of avocado oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little bit of sweet paprika. Seal the bag and shake until all the fries are covered with spices equally.
Line on a baking sheet on pop in the oven preheated on 400F (200C).
The burger can be stuffed with whatever you have available that day - onion, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, spinach, kale etc. The secret though is to precook those veggies before mixing them with the meat. There two reasons for that: first, all the liquids will be out and this will help to keep the burger together and will not mess up the texture; second, their flavor will be more subtle (and way more delicious!), which means your picky eaters are less likely to notice the presence of those healthy ingredients.
I grate the everything on the finest grater I have and saute with ghee and spices until soft. If you are adding leafy greens cook covered for about 5 minutes until wilted or steam separately. Mix your cooked veggies with the beef, season to taste and make your bugers. If they fall apart you can add some tapioca flour, start with a tablespoon and see if you need more. Fry on preheated skillet on med-high for about 3 minutes on each side.
The side of zucchini here is made with almond flour. They didn't come out as crunchy as I was hoping and I keps experimenting until I found a better coating. There is a separate post about those. They are really quick to make though and can be made while the burgers are getting ready.
By now the fries should be ready. If they are cooked and soft but not firm, you can broil on high for 5 minutes or so. Once fries are done your meal is ready to be served - just plate and enjoy!