Creole Pickled Squash: A Perfect Summer Topping

 

Credit where credit's due: I first had pickled squash on a burger at Toups' Meatery in New Orleans. And ever since, I've been in love. These briny morsels have a certain je ne sais quoi that brings the burger home. And with that sharp, juicy flavor, you wouldn't be blamed for snacking straight out of the jar.

When I was searching around for a great recipe, I was thrilled to happen upon Acadiana Table, whom I recognized from their recent SAVEUR nomination. And I was even happier when I adapted their recipe (with a few tweaks) and found it to be fantastic.

So here's how you do it—picking, canning, and all.

Creole Pickled Squash
(adapted from Acadiana Table)
Yield: two 16 oz. jars

Ingredients:
3 yellow squash, thinly sliced
1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/8 cup kosher salt
1 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 cup cider vinegar (couldn't find sugarcane vinegar, despite living in Louisiana...)
1/2 tablespoon brown mustard seed
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup sugar
2 16-oz jars
1 medium saucepan
1 large saucepan

1. Combine squash and onions in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt over the vegetables. Stir, then cover and refrigerate for one hour.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring vinegars, spices, and salt to a boil (stirring to combine). Take squash and onions out of refrigerator. Rinse off salt and add to vinegar mixture. When the liquids have returned to a boil, turn off heat and let sit for thirty minutes.
3. Meanwhile, remove lids and rings from the jars and place all components in the large stockpot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, sterilizing jars for five minutes.
4. Use tongs to remove the jars from the stockpot and place upside-down on a clean dish towel.
5. Once the squash is done pickling, lade it into the sterilized jars. Twist on lids. Return the water in the stockpot to a boil. Use tongs to return jars to the water. Lower heat to a simmer and process jars for ten minutes. Remove jars using tongs and let cool.

Recommendation: Burger topping! I made my patties with a 4-to-1 ratio of ground beef and pork sausage, and included shallots, thyme, oregano, and egg. Served on a kaiser roll with herbed aioli. It was delicious.

Sweet Potato & Lentil Burgers with a Roasted Garlic Avocado Spread

 Always great when a shoddy weather forecast works in your favor. Purportedly, the area was going to suffer a storm of biblical proportions this weekend, but the ground has barely gotten damp....maybe it's just tardy.

But with the sun out and the weather about-to-rain breezy, I've enjoyed three lengthy bike rides and now these delicious vegan burgers—which are sooo cheap, as well as delicious!

Turmeric adds a fleck of gold to the bold orange sweet potato, so you've got yourself a pretty patty. I threw together the roasted garlic avocado spread on a whim; I was initially going to just top the burgers with sliced avocado, but it was a simple upgrade.

Sweet Potato & Lentil Burgers 
with a Roasted Garlic Avocado Spread
Serves 4.

Ingredients:
For the burgers:
1 sweet potato
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup lentils
1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons milled flaxseed cereal
2 tablespoons coconut oil, plus more for cooking
1 pinch dried oregano
2 teaspoons turmeric
Salt
Pepper

For the spread:1 avocado
1 head garlic
Olive oil (for roasting)
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400. Prick sweet potato several times with the tines of a fork, then rub lightly with olive oil. Place on foil-lined baking sheet. Take the head of garlic, peel off the outer layers, and trim the top. Wrap in a small sheet of foil, then drizzle olive oil inside. Place on baking sheet with sweet potato. Bake for 35 minutes, removing garlic after 25.
2. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in lentils, then lower heat, cover, and cook for 30—35 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed.
3. While the lentils, sweet potato, and garlic are cooking, quarter and peel the avocado. Using a potato masher, smash the avocado in a small bowl. When garlic is done roasting, squeeze roasted cloves into the bowl as well. Add lemon juice and stir together until fully combined. Cover and chill for thirty minutes.
4. Drain cooked lentils. Remove sweet potato from oven. Peel and smash. Place both in food processor, along with the remaining ingredients, including 1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Combine on medium-high.
5. Form mixture into four small patties. Heat remaining coconut oil in a medium, non-stick skillet. Cook patties, 5—7 minutes on each side.
6. Top with avocado spread and serve.

Summer Salmon Burgers

Here's another meal that pairs well with the weather.

After I made the maque choux last week, I could not stop thinking about those flavors. I can't wait for the rest of summer: so much corn and tomatoes...all the time.

I turned them into a relish here, topping grilled salmon--I would love to ramble on about how much I enjoy the taste of warm, pink flesh but I would hate to be incarcerated for intent to cannibalize.

I added mint to the relish to enhance the connection with the cool cucumber salad. The salad idea came from my cousin Mary--she made hers with zucchini, whereas I was the victim of a poorly supplied market and had to opt for cucumber. Not such a sore loser, though! It got along swimmingly with the mint and lime juice.

Last but not least...the brioche. I'm not much of a baker in terms of cookies and cupcakes, but I do love churning out a great pastry or bread. Kneading and shaping the dough, watching it brown in the oven, pulling it apart as it still steams...mmmmm. All that before the first bite even!

Enjoyed with the crisp Nobilo sauvignon blanc and now a viewing of Apollo 13 as I blog. Houston, we have a problem...my plate is empty! (So many apologies.)

NOTES:
1. I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe for brioche buns. My house isn't crazy warm like hers, so I proofed the dough in the oven. For the first rise, I preheated the oven to 170. When it reached the temperature, I popped the dough in the oven, shut the door, and turned off the heat. After an hour, it had doubled in size. The recipe made more buns than I needed, but I fully aim to use the ocean of brioche I have produced. Halve the recipe if you must!
2. Another brioche note! I ran out of regular milk, so I used almond. No noticeable difference! Might even have been better ;)

Summer Salmon Burgers
Serves 4.

4 skinless salmon fillets
1/2 cup pesto
Salt & pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons oregano
Olive oil (for cooking)

Brioche burger buns
2 tablespoons olive oil (for toasting)

3 ears corn, shucked
1 bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 mint leaves, sliced chiffonade style
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper

2 cucumbers, halved and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 mint leaves, chopped
1 lime, juiced
Salt
Pepper

1. Prepare brioche buns. Set aside.
2. Coat salmon fillets with pesto and seasonings. Place in a small bowl covered with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450. Combine corn, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, garlic, and mint in a large, oven-safe skillet. Add olive oil and stir to combine.
4. Place skillet in oven and cook for 20 - 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Reserve relish to a medium bowl to cool.
5. In another bowl, combine cucumbers, oil, mint, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and place in fridge for thirty minutes to allow flavors to meld.
6. Remove salmon from marinade. Heat two tablespoons olive oil in medium grill pan. Add salmon fillets skin-side up and cook, 5 - 7 minutes per side.
7. Toast brioche buns in a small skillet over medium-high heat.
8. Place salmon on toasted buns, topped with relish. Remove cucumber salad from refrigerator and serve on side.

Italian Stuffed Burgers

I've been talking lately with my coworker about the possibility of opening a food truck specializing in stuffed burgers. The problem for me when I talk about ideas like this is that it's difficult to limit myself. I want to cook everything. But I must adjust myself to practical concerns like inventory and time.

Here, though, is an item I think we could market quite well. With spaghetti and meatballs in mind, I created a burger stuffed with fresh mozzarella and slow-roasted roma tomatoes and served on toasted garlic buns. I did hope--for poetic reasons--that noodles would work as a topping. I have been told vehemently that they would not.

The slow-roasted tomatoes sat in for the desired marinara element, bringing that juicy tomato flavor without oozing out of the patty.

I fried the pancetta, pressing down on it to render grease, and then cooked the burgers in this flavorful oil.

To go alongside the burgers, I chopped up some red potatoes and sprinkled them with herbs and olive oil, then roasted them for close to an hour.

The hamburger buns were simply sprinkled with garlic powder and then popped in the toaster.

Then we assembled the burgers and ate--before we "snacked" on too much of the mozzarella and tomatoes.

The Italians certainly know how to meld their flavors.

Italian Stuffed Burgers
Serves 4. 

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons garlic powder
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, chopped
6 small rounds of pancetta
4 hamburger buns, halved, dusted with garlic powder, and toasted

4 roma tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil

6 small red potatoes, chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil

Parsley (for garnish)

1. Preheat oven to 200. Place quartered tomatoes on a baking sheet and sprinkle with herbs, balsamic, and olive oil. Roast for 2  hours.
2. When the tomatoes are almost done, mix together ground beef, minced shallots, oregano, and garlic powder.
3. Remove tomatoes from oven. Increase oven temperature to 400. Spread potatoes out on another baking sheet and coat with rosemary and olive oil. Roast in oven for 45 minutes.
4. Form thin burger patties, then top half the patties with mozzarella and a roasted tomato. Place an unadorned patty on top, then crimp the edges together to fully seal.
5. Fry pancetta in a medium skillet, pressing down to render grease. Once cooked, set pancetta aside and cook burger patties in the rendered oil.
6. Assemble burgers on toasted garlic buns, then top with pancetta--and another roasted roma if desired! Serve roasted potatoes on the side.

Turkey Burgers Stuffed with Spinach, Swiss, and Turkey Bacon

I've been trying to get away from other people's recipes for a while, but this is the first time I went completely off-book and I had a blast.

I had some ground turkey breast that I wanted to use, so the idea blossomed from there. I began by making a dressing, whisking together olive oil, honey, Dijon, white wine vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, French vinaigrette, salt and pepper.

Then I cooked up the turkey bacon until well-done and easily-crumbled. I reserved the drippings in the pan and transferred the bacon to a paper towel to blot up the grease.

For the burgers, I combined ground turkey, chopped onion, honey, garlic powder, onion powder, three tablespoons of vegetable oil, chopped almonds, salt and pepper. I formed the mixture into thin patties. On top of every other patty, I mounded chopped spinach, Swiss, and crumbled turkey bacon. I drizzled the dressing over the mixture and then placed another patty on top, crimping the edges in order to fully enclose it.

I heated up my skillet to medium-high and added a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once the oil was hot but not smoking, I heaved my massive burger into the pan and cooked it for about three to four minutes each side.

I plated the burgers and reduced the heat on the pan to medium, then I sauteed some sliced onions for an additional topping.

I served the burger on a French bread bun and topped it with Swiss, sauteed onions, and more honey Dijon dressing. Boom, dinner!

Thoughts for next time:
-I might sauté the spinach with some chopped onion and garlic and let it wilt a little. 
-I would toast the French bread bun before I added my burger. 
-I wanted to use pancetta or proscuitto instead of turkey bacon, but I couldn't find it at the store. Turkey bacon was still delicious, though!

Turkey Burgers Stuffed with Spinach, Swiss, and Turkey Bacon
Serves 3.


For the burgers:
2 pounds ground turkey
One onion, halved: one half chopped, the other half sliced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup spinach, chopped
1 cup Swiss, grated
3 slices turkey bacon, crumbled
3 French bread buns


For the dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon French vinaigrette