Category: lettuce

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burger food lettuce sweet potato turkey

turkey burger bowls with sweet potato fries and roasted tomato salad

turkey burger bowl

Looking for a healthier alternative to a hamburger and fries? Try turkey burger bowls with sweet potato fries!

It will come as no surprise that over 70% of us resolve to be healthier in the new year, but research from Sainsbury’s reveals that in fact two thirds of us will spend almost a full day more (22 hours) watching TV in January and 1/3 of us end up eating more comfort foods in January than any other month. Great for crushing those box-sets, bad for keeping to your resolutions.

In an attempt to try and get a balance between satisfying foods and weight-concious, Sainsbury’s asked me to come up with a recipe that strikes a balance. Others have swapped beef for lentils, spaghetti for courgetti, and using avocado in a chocolate mousse. It’s called “ComFit foods”, classic comfort foods with a healthy twist.

I love a burger, but it’s not a healthy treat. So I looked at it and picked it apart so it was still recognisable and importantly good to eat. So here I’ve used turkey a naturally lean meat. I’ve added seeds for a good boost of nutrients, and crucially the bun is gone. So you don’t miss having fries I’ve also included quick oven-baked sweet potato fries.

So if you’re craving a burger but want to skip some of the guilt, try these turkey burger bowls!

Find some more ComFit recipes here

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turkey burger bowls with sweet potato fries and roasted tomato salad

Course Main Dish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

For the patties

  • 750 g turkey mince
  • 2 cream crackers
  • 1 tablespoon mixed seeds
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1 teaspoon English mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey

For the salad

  • 4 sweet potatoes
  • 300 g cherry tomatoes
  • 1 iceberg lettuce

For the sauce

  • 75 g natural yoghurt
  • 30 g tomato ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon burger mustard

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 210c. Wash the sweet potatoes, cut into wedges and put on to a baking tray. Put the tomatoes on a separate baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Season tomatoes and sweet potatoes with salt and pepper, give each a drizzle of olive oil and pop in the oven. They will cook in about 30 minutes.
  • For the sauce, mix all the ingredients and put to one side until needed.
  • In a bowl crush the crackers and seeds together until no large bits of cracker remain. Add the turkey, mustard and honey with a dash of salt and pepper and mix thoroughly to combine. Form into four burger patty shapes.
  • In a large frying pan, add a little oil and use a piece of kitchen towel to wipe it around the pan so there is a thin coating. Fry the burgers for around 9 - 12 minutes, flipping every minute until cooked through.
  • Meanwhile shred the lettuce and use it to line four bowls. Add the tomatoes and potatoes from the oven, top with a burger and serve the dressing on the side.
Categories
bread chicken food lettuce peas

roast chicken with petits pois a la francais

Sometimes, when you’re cooking dinner you just know it’s going to be good, you can feel it. This was one of those times.

It was an excuse to eat peas, this one: the peas are a recipe from attending Waitrose Cookery School recently (more on that in a future post). I know it’s a classical French recipe but this is just so damn tasty. This from someone who isn’t that bothered about peas. Seriously, they’re amazing. Try this on their own. I would of course usually roast a chicken in my favourite Heston way, but on this occasion I was caught short and had to cook the chicken on the quick and roasted it in the traditional way. It was fine, but I do miss the succulence afforded by lovely brined meat. All that aside, this combination of chicken and braised peas is just brill. The gravy is inspired by a method described in Alex Mackay’s new book Everybody, Everyday.

By the way, note only the breasts were required for this recipe. I used the other parts of chicken for meals elsewhere in the week.

Roast chicken with petits pois a la français (serves 4):

For the chicken:

1.7kg chicken

1 onions, quartered

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally

For the peas:

25g butter

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

4 rashers bacon, sliced

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

250g petits pois

2 little gem lettuces, shredded

A large handful of parsley, finely chopped

For the gravy:

600ml chicken stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornflour

Sourdough bread, to serve

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  2. Free the chicken from its trussing, put it in a roasting tray, slather it in olive oil and season well. Pop a quarter of the onion and half the garlic in the cavity, and scatter the remaining alliums around the chicken. Pop in the oven for 1 hour to 1hr 30mins, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 70°C+. Allow to rest, covered, for at least 15 mins before carving (only the breasts are required for this recipe).
  3. When the chicken has been in for about 30 mins, melt the butter in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion for a couple of minutes until softened. Add the bacon and rosemary and cook for a couple more minutes, then add the peas and lettuce. Cover and allow to raise for 30 mins, stirring occasionally. When the peas are tender check for seasoning and add the parsley.
  4. For the gravy, boil the stock and soy together until reduced by a quarter. Mix the cornflour with a splash of water and whisk this in. When the chicken has been removed from the oven add the juices from the pan to the gravy. Serve everything together with sourdough bread to soak up the gravy.
Categories
bacon bread chicken food lettuce onion

chicken and bacon salad

It’s a real mothership this one, a monster among salads. I’ve piled it here on to a huge plate so everyone can help themselves. The name undersells it somewhat. The brining of the chicken is not vital, but will give lots of moisture to the final dish.

Chicken and bacon salad (serves 4 – 6 with no other accompaniments):

4 chicken breasts, sliced into fingery pieces

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1 star anise

3 cloves

1 red onion, diced

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

4 rashers of bacon, sliced into strips

Half a french stick

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

2 little gems lettuces, broken up

Handful of other interesting leaves, something bitter is good

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Splash of milk

Heavy-handed dash of Worcestershire sauce

Couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

  1. Prepare a brine of 8% salt solution, adding the syrup, star anise and cloves. Plop the chicken in and soak for at least 4 hours. Drain well and rinse under cold water.
  2. Cover the onion in vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and leave to marinate while you get on with the rest. Get the oven on 180°C.
  3. Begin to fry the bacon in batches so the pan isn’t crowding until browned and crisp, draining on kitchen roll as you go. Once this lot’s done make a start on frying the chicken until cooked through.
  4. Tear up the bread, and toss in a baking tray with salt, pepper, oil and the pumpkin seeds. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
  5. Mix the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and oil together, adding milk if necessary to make a gloopy dressing. Check for seasoning too.
  6. Scrunch up the onions to drain the liquid off, then combine the chicken, bacon, bread and seeds with the lettuce. Drizzle over the sauce and toss well to combine.
Categories
artichoke bread broad beans food lettuce parmesan

broad bean and artichoke salad

Felt like something quick, easy and wholesome for dinner tonight. I found this recipe on Merchant Gourmet’s site and had a bash. It was very filling and had lots of earthy flavours going on, but I didn’t feel the mint added anything and yet there was still something missing. A really sticky-sweet balsamic dressing might do the trick, or perhaps a little grated apple.

Not a bad start, but needs some work.

Broad bean and artichoke salad:

6 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil

100g parmesan shavings

1 ciabatta loaf

400g grilled artichokes

finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

300g frozen broad beans

1 little gem lettuce, finely shredded

handful fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

  1. Boil the broad beans for 4-5 mins until tender. While draining add a little pumpkin oil and lemon juice, tossing around to coat.
  2. Lightly brush the cut sides of the ciabatta with 4 tbsp of the Pumpkin Seed Oil and place cut side up on the grill pan and scatter with salt flakes. Lightly grill for 1-2 minutes until pale golden and crisp.
  3. Meanwhile place the artichoke hearts into a bowl with the lemon rind and juice, remaining Pumpkin Seed Oil, broad beans, little gem, mint and parmesan and toss together. Season generously with a little salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and toss again.
  4. Serve the salad on the warm toasted ciabatta.
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