Herbed Chicken and Apple Burgers
This recipe will lighten up your burgers and add new flavour at the same time. First, use ground chicken instead of beef. Then, to boost the fibre and flavour, add grated apples, as well as fresh sage and thyme. Serve the burgers on whole-wheat buns spread with the sweet honey mustard sauce.
Burgers
1 lb (500 g) ground chicken
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1⁄4 cup (50 mL) plain dry bread crumbs
2 large green apples, such as Granny Smith (for a tart taste) or Golden Delicious (for a sweet taste), peeled and coarsely grated
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh thyme leaves
1⁄4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1⁄4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper
To serve
1⁄4 cup (50 mL) Dijon mustard
1 tbsp (15 mL) honey
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns, split
6 tbsp (90 mL) watercress sprigs, large stalks discarded
• Apples provide vitamin C and pectin, a soluble fibre. When you eat apples with their skins still on, you get even more fibre—one third more, to be exact.
• Try serving with sweet potato fries
- In a large bowl, place the chicken, onion, bread crumbs, apples, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix the ingredients together until the ingredients are distributed evenly throughout. Wet your hands, then divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and shape each into a burger about 4 in. (10 cm) in diameter and 11⁄2 in. (4 cm) thick. Chill the burgers for 1 hour to firm up the meat and make it easier to hold together while it cooks.
- Preheat the grill or broiler to high. Place burgers on a rack about 6 in. (15 cm) from the source of heat. Grill or broil the burgers, turning them once, until they are golden brown on both sides and until they are still juicy but cooked through completely.
- While the burgers cook, mix the mustard and honey in a small cup. On a flat surface, open the 4 buns with the soft cut sides up. Spread the honey mustard on cut sides of both the tops and bottoms of the buns. Pile one fourth of the watercress on the bottom of each bun.
- When the burgers are ready, transfer a burger to the bottom of each bun, placing it on top of the watercress. Cover with the top of the bun and serve immediately.
preparation time 20 minutes
chilling time 1 hour
grilling or broiling time 20 minutes
serves 4
Each serving (one burger) provides calories 505, calories from fat 171, fat 19 g, saturated fat 1 g, cholesterol 64 mg, carbohydrate 55 g, fibre 7 g, sugars 23 g, protein 34 g.
Choices per serving: Carbohydrate 3, Meat & Alternatives 3 1/2, Fat 1 1/2
Excerpted from Eat to Beat Diabetes, available now in the Best Health Store
