Veally Good Burgers

Classic Structure, Wendy Pflaum, guest writes this week’s PixieTips. A  week’s worth of ideas for home cooked meals, perfect for Classics,  Smart Structures and Organic Structures.

Now that your shopping is done, the next important thing to do is package your food accordingly. This is especially helpful for the meat you freeze. If you are making pork chops and you are a family of four, package only four together when you freeze. I wrap everything in wax paper and seal them in Ziploc freezer bags in a one meal portion. I recommend marking the outside of the package and date it, so you can make sure you don’t let things get too old.

Pre-prep your food as much as possible. If you can add ingredients or seasonings or get food ready in anyway, then do so prior to freezing. Then when it defrosts, it’s completely ready to cook. Pre-packaging keeps it easy and also helps also with portion control, so you are cooking only what you need. Not only does this keep you from overeating, it also reduces leftovers so that every meal will be fresh.

This recipe is a good example of how you can prep the meat ahead of time.  Add the seasonings and create the patties the day you buy the ingredients, and then wrap them in wax paper and freeze them.  You just have to take them out day you cook them.

Veally Good Burgers

  • 1-1/2 pounds ground veal (or meatloaf mixture if it’s easier to find)
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 15 sage leaves, finely chopped (optional for flavor)
  • Salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 slices of prosciutto
  • 6 ounces of fontina cheese, sliced
  • 8 thick slices of semolina or other large loaf of good Italian bread (or good Italian rolls)
  • 2 cups of romaine lettuce, chopped in large pieces
  • 1 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Good Gourmet Potato chips

 

  1. In a medium bowl, mix the veal with garlic and sage, season with salt and pepper and form into patties. ( this can be done ahead of time before freezing)
  2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium –high heat and cook the patties 3-4 minutes each side.  Top the burgers with prosciutto and fontina and cover briefly to melt on top.
  3. While the burgers cook, toast the bread.
  4. Toss the romaine with the olive oil and lemon and put on the burgers on the toasted bread.
  5. Toss the cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and serve on the side with good potato chips.