Father's Day is the third Sunday in June in North America. This year spoil your dad with a healthy twist on a classic dad-approved meal — The mighty burger and fries!
The following recipe is vegetarian but a worthy contender to any burger, period. It’s "meaty", flavourful, and high in protein. Halloumi is a Cypriot semi-hard, unripened brined cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk, and sometimes cow milk.
It can easily be modified to include a homemade meat patty and/or bacon if you really want to show him you care(nivore!). Serve up with a healthy version of homemade Thousand Island dressing to go with your taters. For an extra treat or gift, have the kids make some woodsy-scented and flavoured spruce tip goodies!
Portobello and Halloumi Burgers
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 2 buns
- 2 small portobello mushrooms
- 1 pack halloumi cheese
- 1 white onion
- 4 tbsp. cooking oil
Toppings
- 4 tbsp. tomato chutney (recipe below)
- 2 tbsp. hot mustard
- 1 avocado
- handful mixed greens (i.e. spring, mustard, sprouts)
Instructions
- Cut the onion into thin slices. In a medium-hot pan sauté in oil for 5 minutes.
- Remove the stems of the Portobello mushrooms and place over the sautéing onions.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. The mushroom will provide additional moisture and assist in softening the onions, while the steam released from the caramelizing onions will cook the mushroom. Occasionally check and stir the mixture.
- It should caramelize nicely in 20 minutes. The onions should be sweet and golden brown and the mushrooms should be easily pierced with a fork and juicy. Optional: add fresh herbs (e.g. thyme).
- Put another pan on medium high heat and drizzle in cooking oil.
- Portion and slice the halloumi at least ½ inch think and sear each side for roughly 3 minutes or until golden brown.
- Prepare an assembly line for burgers.
- Slice the buns, rinse the lettuce, mash or slice an avocado, get out a selection of condiments and pull out your gorgeous sweet tater tats.
- Design your burger and accompany it with a sweet order of fries.
Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 2 tbsp. cooking oil (to coat wedges)
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil (to line the baking tray)
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
Instructions
- Turn the oven on bake to 400 F. Place a baking tray in the middle of the oven to heat the tray. Note: this step will ensure your sweet potatoes get crispy.
- Wash the sweet potatoes with a bristle brush (leave skin on). One at a time cut the potatoes in half along the length, making long wedge cut fries.
- In a bowl mix the paprika, cayenne, turmeric, salt and oil. Toss with the newly formed wedges.
- Once the oven has reached the ideal temperature, carefully pull out the hot tray from the oven with oven mitts.
- Scoop a couple tablespoons of coconut oil on the tray to evenly coat. Position the wedges on the tray and return it to the middle rack of the oven to bake.
- After 15 minutes flip the wedges over and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove and let cool.
Simple Cherry Tomato Chutney
Ingredients
- 4 shallots (diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 500g cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- Pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Slice a shallow “X” in the bottom of all the tomatoes.
- Fill a bowl with ice and water and set it next to the stove.
- Working in batches, drop several tomatoes into the boiling water. Watch for their skins to start to wrinkle and split (45-60 seconds).
- Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the ice water bath.
- When all the tomatoes have cooled, use your fingers or a paring knife to peel back the skins.
- Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Cook over medium high heat for about 15 minutes or until the mixture has thickened and looks jammy.
- Adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Thousand Islands Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup cherry tomato relish
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make a paste with the garlic and a ¼ tsp. of salt by crushing it with the side of a chef’s knife.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together garlic, mayonnaise, and cherry tomato relish.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Store refrigerated for up a 1 week or freeze.