Beef and Portabellini Burgers with Brie

Years ago I remember watching a television interview with nutritionist, Michael Pollan who said that you could eat as much junk food as you wanted, as long as you made it yourself. I think the idea was that the time and effort involved would deter people from doing it too often! While I do enjoy the odd take-away I much prefer to make those types of meals myself anyway - they taste so much better when home made and do not have to take hours to put together. Burgers would definitely fall into that category, but in my humble burger-loving opinion I am not sure that today's recipe could be considered junk food at all.

There is more to this burger than meets the eye. Enter the brilliant mushroom! In this recipe I have included equal quantities of beef mince and rich portabellini mushrooms to lower the fat content and give the burgers a delicious, earthy flavour. These patties can be mixed up in minutes in your food processor and freeze well too, making them perfect for a quick weeknight supper. Adding mushrooms to your homemade burger patties is an easy way to sneak extra veggies into the kids' meals too.

Burger night just went gourmet! Keep an eye on the blog for the next #JoinTheBlendTrend recipe coming soon. 

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BEEF AND PORTABELLINI BURGERS WITH BRIE

Serves 4

200g portabellini mushrooms
40g onion
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
200g beef mince
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
oil for frying

To assemble:

4 ciabatta rolls
4 tbsp onion marmalade
micro leaves or rocket
8 slices brie

Step 1.) Place the portabellini mushrooms, onion and thyme leaves in a food processor and blend to a paste. 

Step 2.) Add the mince, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs and a good grinding of salt and pepper and blend the mixture until just combined. 

Step 3.) Divide the mince mixture equally into 4 balls and use your hands to carefully shape each ball into a burger patty. Heat the oil in a griddle pan (or frying pan) and cook the patties for 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked to your liking. 

Step 4.) To assemble the burgers: cut the ciabatta rolls in half and toast under the grill for a few minutes until they start to brown. Spread a tablespoon of onion marmalade on the bottom of each one. Pile on some micro leaves or rocket followed by the burger patty and top with slices of brie cheese. Serve with chunky fries.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by MushroomsSA. The recipe, images and words are my own and were created for the #JoinTheBlendTrend campaign.