Unilever Food Solutions Plate to Win’s winning burger recipe comes courtesy of Sandton Convention Centre’s senior chef, Sibusiso Mashinini. While many tasty traditional add-ons appear in this recipe, like fried onion rings and tomato and mushroom relish, Sibusiso’s original extras like the butternut crisp make this burger a real winner.
Unilever Food Solutions Plate to Win – Winning Burger
Ingredients
Burger buns
- 1 wholewheat burger bun, cut in half
- 30g Marvello Butter Flavoured margarine + extra, to fry
Butternut crisp
- 1 butternut, sliced lengthways and cut into 5cm discs (to use 4 discs)
- 50ml vegetable oil
- 15ml (1 tbsp) Robertsons Cajun Spice
Fried onion rings
- 40g onion, peeled and cut into rings
- 1ml (¼ tsp) Robertsons Veggie Seasoning
- 1ml (¼ tsp) Robertsons Cajun Spice
- 60g cake flour
- 1 egg, whisked
- 20ml (4 tsp) water
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tomato and mushroom relish
- 30g onion, chopped into 0,5cm cubes
- ½ medium tomato, peeled and chopped into 0,5cm cubes
- 3 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 10ml (2 tsp) vegetable oil
- fresh lemon juice, to taste
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 40ml Knorr Sweet Chilli Sauce
Basting
- 30ml (2 tbsp) Knorr Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 5ml (1 tsp) soya sauce
Spice mix
- 5g Rorbertsons Mixed Spice
- 1g (¼ tsp) Robertsons Paprika
- 1g (¼ tsp) Robertsons Cayenne Pepper
- 1g (¼ tsp) Robertsons Steak & Chops
- 1g (¼ tsp) Robertsons Barbecue Spice
- 1g (¼ tsp) Robertsons Mixed Herbs
- 10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Burger patties
- 85g beef mince
- 10g beef fat (ask your local butcher)
- 1 egg
- 1 very small (40g) onion, peeled and finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 10g breadcrumbs
Garnish
- 1 medium tomato, cut into thin slices
- 5ml (1 tsp) Robertsons Veggie Seasoning
- 20g avocado, cut into 0,5cm slices
- 1 lemon, to squeeze
- small handful fresh rocket
- 30ml (2 tbsp) ready-made hollandaise sauce (we used Maille)
- 2 slices Emmenthal
- small handful microherbs
Instructions
For the burger bun, melt the margarine in a hot frying pan. Sear the two halves of the bun until golden. Set aside until needed.
For the butternut crisp, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. When smoking hot, add the butternut discs, one at a time. Fry until crisp, but not burned. Season with the Robertsons Cajun Spice and salt on both sides. Set aside to drain on paper towel.
For the fried onion rings, in a bowl, combine the spices, cake flour and the egg, while whisking briskly to avoid lumps from forming. Add the water and season to taste. Drag the onion rings through the flour and add them to the batter. Using the hot oil left over from the butternut crisp, fry the onion rings until golden and firm. Set aside to drain on paper towel.
For the relish, sweat the onions in a hot frying pan and add the tomato and mushrooms . Continue sweating, another 3 minutes. Season with lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Place the relish in a bowl and allow to cool. Add the Knorr Sweet Chilli Sauce, stirring.
For the basting, combine the Knorr Sweet Chilli and soya sauces and set aside until needed.
For the patty, in a medium-sized bowl, mix all of the ingredients together, slowly working the ingredients into the mince with your hands. Add the spice mix to taste and continue working the mixture gently with your hands. The spices should be added gradually to retain a balanced flavour profile. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Place the beef mixture in the fridge, 30 minutes. Shape the patty into a disc. Heat a knob Marvello Butter Flavoured Margarine in a saucepan. Once hot, add the burger patty and sear both sides, 1 minute per side. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Baste the patty with the basting. Place the patty in a roasting dish and roast in the oven, 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to rest.
For the garnish, season the tomato slices to taste. Set aside until needed. Squeeze the lemon over the avocado to stop oxidation.
To serve, start building the burger on one half of the toasted bun: first the tomato slices, followed by the fresh rocket, the burger patty, avocado slices, hollandaise sauce, relish and Emmenthal. Heat in a hot oven, 1 minute. Garnish with microherbs. Close your burger with the other half of the bun. Serve with the onion rings alongside.
