I’ve gotten quite into baking my own bread recently, whether that’s because I’ve had time on my hands or because I’m no longer in France where I dare not even compete with the boulangeries, I’m not sure, but either way I’m a woman on a mission.

I got a delicious recipe for white rolls from a chef friend of mine (who is over on http://www.cupcakeatsea.com if you want some more food inspo!) that I’ve started making instead of buying burger buns from the store, but that’s kind of beside the point here. I’m still sure that it was the smell of fresh bread that made the owner of the yacht step into the galley and ask what I was making, but as he looked over my shoulder and saw the griddle fired up and watched me carefully flip a chicken burger that had nicely sizzled on one side already, he insisted it was this smell that drew him in.

“This is for the crew? What is that?” he asked, getting slightly in my way and when I told him (naturally with a slight hint of “can you also move out of my way?”) that these are chicken burgers, his immediate response was “Can you make that for me next time?” in his strong German accent. “If you want this, I will make it for you.” I smiled and he walked out.

Every time I’ve made these burgers, they’ve been inhaled without touching sides and are on the “make again” list from everyone that’s tasted them, so I thought I’d share my recipe with you.

They’re really pretty simple, packed with veg inside of the patties and using chicken or turkey meat is a lower fat and leaner version of their more popular and traditional siblings.

The meat choice really is interchangeable, I just use whichever is available, and if I’m unable to find ground turkey or chicken, I just whiz it in my food processor until it’s nicely minced. If I’m going that route, I generally use breast meat just cut into small chunks and pulse until it starts to combine, scrape down the side of the processor bowl and blitz again until the desired consistency.

You will need:

• 500g Turkey or Chicken Mince
• 1 Celery Stick, chopped
• 75g Kosher Dill Pickles, chopped
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs or Panko
• 1 Small Handful Fresh Parsley, chopped
• 1 Large Handful Spinach, chopped
• 3 Splashes Fish Sauce
• Zest of 1/2 Lemon
• Sea Salt, Black Pepper
• Sesame Oil

To Serve (Optional):

Burger Buns, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, Feta, Red Onion, Aioli, Sweet Potato Fries

What you need to do:

• Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
• Simply mix all of your ingredients together except for the sesame oil, seasoning generously with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. The mixture should be quite sticky and will hold together on a spoon.
• Using your hands, divide the mixture into four equal balls and press flat to form a patty about 1.5cm high.
• Heat a skillet, large pan or a griddle and drizzle with sesame oil.
• Once it is hot, add the patties and press down gently with the back of a wooden spoon or a fish spatula. Leave them to cook for 3-4 minutes as they will brown nicely and then gently lift up and turn over to cook another 3-4 minutes.
• If using a skillet, move directly to the oven to finish cooking for a further 4-5 minutes, and otherwise transfer the patties to an oven proof tray and place them in the oven.
• My favourite way to serve these is with some smashed avocado on the base of a bun, lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion and a sprinkling of feta cheese and a side of sweet potato fries, throw in some aioli for good measure and enjoy!

L, xo

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