Zuchinni Chicken Burgers

These burgers were an early pandemic creation for me before I discovered grocery delivery and was limiting my grocery shops to once a month. I often ran out of ingredients and had to get super creative with what I had on hand. There was a solid two weeks last April that I didn’t have eggs, but I had some ground chicken in my freezer. Knowing that zucchinis add a great amount of moisture to baked goods, I thought to experiment with them as the binder. They turned out so well, and now are in regular rotation! I honestly like them better than chicken burgers made with the traditional egg and breadcrumb binder. I find they stay super moist and remind me of a smash burger texture. The Worcestershire sauce adds so much savouriness to the patties that they almost taste like a beef burger.

The mixture is pretty loose, which is typical of a chicken burger because there’s less fat to keep its shape when they are cold. Update: I’ve tried these on the BBQ and they hold together well! You just need to cook them on a high heat, similar to the pan method, so that a crust forms before flipping. Tips below.

A few tips:

Mix your binder/flavourings before adding in the ground chicken

Similar to my glazed chicken meatballs, I recommend mixing all your flavourings first then adding in your ground chicken so everything gets evenly distributed without over mixing the meat.

Put oil or water on your hands to shape

Since ground chicken can be a bit ‘sticky’, coating your palms with a little oil or wetting them with water will help prevent your hands from getting too sticky.

Cook on a high heat

To give them a good crust and help them keep their shape, I start them at a high heat and then turn it down to finish cooking through. If you have a cast iron, I would recommend using that with a good glug of oil but I have also made these in a non-stick!

For the BBQ, heat grill to high and brush grill with a high smoke point oil like vegetable or canola oil. Grill on high until a crust forms before flipping! This will ensure they don’t stick.

Do not disturb for the first few mins

In order for a good crust to form, you need to sear them hard in the oil and not move them around too much to start. Otherwise, you’ll have some mixture sticking to the pan / left behind!

Freeze for future you!

My friend tested out freezing these raw (wrapped in plastic wrap) and they held up well! Just let them thaw, and then cook as below.

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Zuchinni Chicken Burgers

Time: 30 mins

Yields: 4 burgers

Ingredients:

1 cup grated zucchini, drain out excess liquid (either press down in a strainer or squeeze with a clean cloth or cheesecloth)

¼ white onion, grated

1 tsp Sriracha

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp kosher salt

Cracked black pepper

1 package ground chicken (450g)

1 tbsp neutral oil for pan - avocado or sunflower oil preferred for high heat, use lower heat with olive oil (you won’t get the same crust!)

Optional burger sauce:

1/2 cup mayo

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Sriracha

Method:

1. Mix together your grated zucchini, onion, Sriracha, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Once well combined, mix in your ground chicken.

2. Form into 4 equal patties.

3. Heat pan with oil over medium-high heat. (Alternatively, heat BBQ grill on high and brush grill with canola or vegetable oil).

4. Place patties in the pan (or on grill), ensuring space between them so they don’t steam.

5. Leave them undisturbed for 5-7 mins until a dark crust forms. Flip with confidence! One swift movement under and then flip!

6. Continue to cook on the other side for another 2 mins then turn down the heat to medium and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 165F (about 4 mins). Top with cheese slice if desired!

7. Serve on a bun with tomato, lettuce, burger sauce, and whatever else tickles your fancy!

Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa

This is a meal that is in my weekly rotation, and I’ve been meaning to share it on here for a long time. I went back through my phone to upload the photos for this post, as I remember shooting this dish and drafting the recipe last year. Weirdly enough, these photos are from March 1, 2020. It’s funny to think about what life was like then - I had just moved into my own apartment and I remember being really busy with work because we had a big campaign launching later that week. I ran out of time to finish typing up the recipe on the weekend, and then the next two weeks were a bit of a blur. Between work and the changing world around us, I remember feeling overwhelmed by everything. I definitely had a lot of time in those first few weeks of lockdown to finish this recipe, but I did not have the motivation to work on anything long-form. So here we are, almost a year later, with the recipe ready to share and a bizarre feeling thinking about how different life was before the pandemic.

This dish was a go-to meal growing up, we probably ate it once a week in the summer. The mango salsa is so fresh, it pairs perfectly with the fatty salmon. Sometimes in the summer, we would do the fish on the BBQ in tin foil packets, with salt and pepper, lemon slices on top. Although it’s a summer dish, I enjoy this year-round to bring some brightness to my week.

Salmon is a great fish for carrying a lot of flavour, and it doesn’t taste too “fishy”. The salsa is so colourful, and since it’s packed with flavour you don’t need to do much to the salmon (just salt and pep!). I sometimes double the salsa recipe so that I have leftovers, which are great to top tacos or use as a dip with tortilla chips. The salsa will hold up well in the fridge for multiple days (3-5). You could add in some diced avocado as well to add in some creaminess if having it as a dip.

Here are a few tips and alternatives for the recipe:

Salmon:

If you can, try to source local and Oceanwise labelled fish. The recipe also works great with other pink-fleshed fish like trout if you live far from the ocean. 

Mango: 

If you aren’t able to source a ripe mango, you could also swap in pineapple. I would say half a fresh pineapple would yield roughly the same amount as a mango.

• To slice a mango, I follow this method here: slice straight on each side of the pit, then run the knife into a grid in the flesh (without piercing the skin) and scoop out from the skin.

Red pepper:

Adds a gentle spice to the salsa, a bit of bite to cut through the sweetness of the mango. You could swap in another coloured pepper, like orange or yellow. I would avoid green since it will add a really different flavour.

Red onion:

If you don’t have a red onion on hand, a shallot would work great. I have also made this salsa using green onion, just ensure you use the whole thing (including the white part) to get that sharp onion flavour.

Cilantro:

If you are cilantro-adverse, you could fully omit or you could switch in another soft herb like parsley or mint. 

How to serve:

I love this with steamed rice, and a roasted green veggie, like broccoli or asparagus. I like to fluff my rice with a little bit of coconut oil and salt and pepper for a gentle coconut flavour with the fish. 

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Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa

Serves 4, 30 mins

Ingredients:

4 fresh Atlantic salmon portions (or other pink fish of your choice - trout works great too!)

1 mango, diced

½ a red pepper, diced

¼ a red onion, finely diced

¼ cup of fresh cilantro (optional), finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime (roughly 2 tbsp lime juice)

¼ tsp kosher salt

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. 

2. Place fish fillets on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or another oven safe dish. Lightly season with salt and pepper right before putting in the oven (do not do this too early or your fish will break down)

3. Meanwhile, mix together all of the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust your seasoning - if it tastes too sweet add a little more salt until the savouriness of the pepper and onion comes through.

4. Cook the salmon until opaque and flaky, about 15-20 minutes depending on how thick the salmon is. I like to test my salmon with a cake tester to see how easily it flakes. It should flake without much pressure.

5. Remove salmon from the oven and serve with rice, topped with mango salsa. I prefer the salsa room temperature or cool from the fridge.

Warm Potato Salad with Leek and Bacon

I developed this recipe a few years ago when trying to think of a mayo alternative for potato salad. I have a few friends who do not like mayo based foods, and my paranoid #foodsafety makes me weary of white sauces in the summer. I wanted something that would taste delicious warm or room temperature without fear of illness. I had been playing around with mustard, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup for other salads and roasted vegetables, and thought the combination with bacon and leeks would make for a flavourful side. The result is zingy, savoury and hearty - the perfect sidekick to any BBQ this summer.

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Warm Potato Salad with Leek and Bacon

30 mins total

Ingredients:

Dressing:

2 tbsp grainy mustard

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup

¼ tsp of kosher salt

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad:

2 bags of baby potatoes (3 lbs total)

2 leeks, white parts sliced (yields roughly 2 ½ cups sliced)

8-12 strips of bacon, preferably from a market or local butcher

¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

The prep (you can do these three steps at the same time - mostly inactive cooking):

1. Rinse the potatoes and place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and boil until potatoes are fork tender (about 15 minutes). Once cooked through, drain and set aside.

2. Bake the bacon: this is my favourite way to cook bacon. Less mess and a more even cook. Preheat oven to 350F and place bacon onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake until the bacon is cooked and crisp - about 20 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and place on paper towels. The bacon will crisp up more as it cools. Once cooled, chop into bite sized pieces and set aside.

3. In a large bowl whisk together the grainy mustard, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and kosher salt. Slowly pour in the oil while whisking until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Take ¼ cup of the vinaigrette out and set aside in a small bowl or mason jar.

The assembly:

1. In a medium sized frying pan, add any bacon fat that pooled onto your cookie sheet while it baked. If there isn’t much, add about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Heat to medium. Add in your sliced leeks and cook gently until translucent and tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Add your leeks into the large bowl with 3/4 of your vinaigrette and allow them to soak while you cut your potatoes small bite sized pieces (½ inch). Add to the leek/vinaigrette mixture, along with your chopped bacon. Toss.

3. Taste - does it need salt? If it doesn’t taste yummy and addictive yet, you likely need to season it more. Remember that potatoes are inherently bland and need a lot of help. I usually end up adding about ½ tsp more kosher salt during the final taste and season.

4. Serve warm or chill until ready to serve.

5. If chilling before serving, use your reserved vinaigrette right before serving - the potatoes will likely have soaked up most of the sauce. Top with chopped fresh parsley.