Continuing with the theme of healthy eating, today I’m sharing a quick and easy burger recipe and a great one to make with the kids. The second recipe is one that is perfect for this time of year- butter bean, tomato and chicken soup. I love having soup on the menu, especially this one as it’s brilliant for healthy yet filling lunches.
Classic BBQ Hamburger
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 4 pork loin chops, minced or finely diced (keep fat from chops to side)
- 100ml BBQ sauce
- Olive oil
- Pinch of Herbes de Provence
- 4 burger buns
- 4 cheese slices
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 2 iceberg lettuce leaves, washed
- 1 large gherkin, sliced
For the BBQ sauce:
- 50ml vinegar
- 240ml tomato ketchup
- 240ml water
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 115g demerara sugar
- ¼ onion, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 20g butter
- 2 drops Tabasco sauce
- ¼ tsp celery seeds
Method
- Begin with making the BBQ sauce by placing all ingredients into a pot to cook for 15 minutes on a low heat. Once cooked through, blend until it becomes a smooth consistency.
- For the burgers, with the BBQ sauce, place the minced pork into a bowl and cover with cling film to keep in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to use, remove the minced pork and squeeze out any excess liquid, making it into a burger-shaped pattie.
- Next, heat the olive oil in a pan and once hot, seal the burgers on both sides, adding the herbs. Then place the burgers onto a roasting tray to put in the oven for 10 minutes at 170C. After around eight minutes, add the slices of cheese on top of each burger to melt.
- Next slice the burger buns, adding a dash of the BBQ marinade before adding the lettuce, burger with cheese, sliced gherkin and tomato. Top it off with the burger bun and serve.
Butter Bean, Tomato and Chicken Soup
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 100g butter beans cooked in water
- 50g chickpeas, cooked in water
- 500g ripe plum tomatoes
- 5 red peppers, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 large onion
- Salt and black pepper
- Olive oil
- 500ml vegetable stock
- 1 chicken breast, cut into strips
Method
- To begin, start by cooking the butter beans. This must be done in a separate pot with unsalted water - salted water will make them go hard and inedible. Do the same with the chickpeas in another pot.
- Preheat the oven to 200C to cook the tomatoes. Once cooked, mix the tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onion, seasoning with salt and pepper and cover with a considerable amount of olive oil. Then place in a roasting tray to cook for around 30 minutes.
- Once this time has passed, remove from the oven and place into a pan with vegetable stock. Bring to the boil before allowing to simmer for 10 minutes. Then, using a hand blender, blend the liquid until it’s at a consistency of your choice. I recommend the soup being a little chunky.
- Add the thin chicken strips to the soup, which will poach in the liquid. Cook for five minutes before adding the cooked butter beans and tasting for seasoning.
- Serve with olive oil and enjoy.
If kept in the fridge for 24 hours, it tastes even better.
