Gourmet Burger

Mediterranean-Inspired Gourmet Burger

The burger is one of the most favorite foods of Americans. It's easy to make and the simplest ingredients make for a great meal. All you would need for a basic hamburger are buns, ground beef patties, cheese, some tomato and lettuce, and mayonnaise. However, world-renowned chefs are creating new recipes that turn the simple burger into a gourmet burger that tastes and looks absolutely delicious.

So, dress up your burgers with this gourmet burger recipe:

Anthony Worrall Thompson, British celebrity chef, cooked up a gourmet burger he called the "Spiced Mediterranean Burger". This recipe would need 1 pound each of beef and lamb, finely ground; peeled and finely-grated ½ onion, 1 teaspoon of garlic, finely chopped, 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh cilantro, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of hot pepper sauce, salt and freshly-ground black pepper. With these ingredients, you can make 8 burgers.

To serve this gourmet burger, you would need 8 small baguette rolls or pita bread, 8 peeled and thinly-sliced shallots, chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 4 thinly-sliced large
Tomatoes, 4 whole fresh cilantro leaves, and 2/3 cup of plain Greek-style yogurt.

Now, to make this one-of-a-kind gourmet burger, start by pre-heating your barbecue grill or broiler. With your hands, mix all of the ingredients in a bowl but make sure you do not over-blend it. This mixture would be your burger patties so form them into 8 1-inch thick long ovals. Now, you are ready to char grill the burgers. You can also fry or broil them if you do not have a grill. Do this for about 5 minutes if you want the burgers rare or until it suits your taste.

Of course, presentation is part of making a gourmet burger. So, for an artful way of serving the Spiced Mediterranean Burger, split the baguette rolls or pita breads without cutting them completely into half. Take out some of the bread from the center and then start placing the slices of tomatoes and shallots in the bread. Add the oval burger and top with the leafy garnishes of parsley and cilantro and then spread some of the yogurt.

This delicately-spiced gourmet burger will surely impress your guests. In addition, the ingredients are not hard to find and you can prepare it in just five simple steps. So, next time you are having guests at home treat them to some of these extra-special burgers.