I'm in yoga class paying attention to my breathing, feeling the alignment of my low lunge, and seriously looking forward to a burger. I’ve planned to make burgers for dinner. There is a pound of grass-fed beef defrosting at home. I’ve set up a batch of milk-bread rolls to proof while I’m in class. There is some smoky meaty goodness in my future and I cannot wait! A deep voice in the front of my head growls burrgerr then a shrill little voice in the back of my head reminds me that I haven't really eaten as many green things as I should have today. Is that so bad? I mean it's not like I'm planning to eat ten pounds of chocolate cake, it's a burger, and a grass-fed burger at that.
In my defense, it was a busy day filled with errands, and running around and more of an eat-on-the-run-not-sit-down-and-savor-food kind of day. That’s probably why I’m craving dinner so fully.
I move into a deep forward fold and do a quick mental scan of the contents of my refrigerator. I know there are onions. I think there are carrots. I step back into plank. I have kale. I have bunches of kale. I lower my knees and my chest and my chin and contemplate how uninspired I am by kale. I do not want to braise it, or bake it into chips. I don’t really want to make a simple salad. I want something tangy, exciting, something to cut the richness of a good beef burger. I move into downward facing dog. Pickle the onions. My brain almost whispers it, and suddenly my imagination is shredding carrots, slicing kale leaves into a chiffonade, mixing hot pickling brine with mustard. Suddenly kale is not the enemy. Kale is simply perfect.
By the time I’m lunging on the other side, I’ve got a plan for a smokey burger with tangy kale slaw that just might be the perfect balance between so wrong and so right.
It turned out pretty damn tasty. Here’s what I did:
I boiled some vinegar and sugar together with little salt and decided at the last minute to throw in a smattering of coriander. I added a little water, boiled it until the sugar dissolved and poured it over some thinly sliced onions.
Meanwhile I discovered that in addition to the kale and carrots I also had some bok choy in the fridge so I sliced it up and added it to my slaw mix.
chopped lacinato kale, bok choy, and shredded carrots
I let everything sit while I mixed up the beef with some onions, parsley, smoked paprika, black pepper, and worcestershire. I shaped burgers and put them in the iron skillet.
While they cooked, I removed the onions from the brine mixed in some mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper, and whisked it all together with a fork. I tossed the onions, kale, bok choy and carrots with the dressing and set it to the side.
I cooked the burgers over medium hight heat about 4 minutes on the first side and then 3 minutes on the second. Then I turned off the burner and covered the pan for about two minutes.
I assembled my burgers, served ‘em with a side of slaw (and a few pickled green tomatoes).
The smokey burgers and the tangy slaw were awesome together.
You might even call it bliss.
KALE SLAW
- 4-5 leaves of bok choy
- 7-8 leaves of kale
- 2 medium carrots
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- salt & pepper
Slice onion into thin rounds and place in a heatproof bowl. Boil together vinegar, sugar, 2 tbsp. water, a pinch of salt, and coriander. Pour vinegar mixture over onions. Let sit for at least ten minutes. Wash and shred carrots. Wash bok choy and kale. Remove the stems from the center of the kale leaves and cut crosswise into thin ribbons. Cut bok choy leaves into thin ribbons. Place vegetables in a bowl. Remove onions from brine and add them to vegetables. Add mustard and olive oil to brine and whisk together with a fork until a smooth dressing emulsifies. Season with salt and pepper. Toss slaw with dressing.
SMOKEY BEEF BURGERS
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/4 c. finely chopped red onion
- 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- salt & pepper
- oil for pan
- Buns, lettuce, ketchup
Mix first five ingredients together in a bowl. Season with salt & pepper. Let sit for at least ten minutes to let flavors meld. Shape into four patties. Heat two tbsp. oil in a pan over medium high heat. Cook burgers four minutes on one side, flip, and cook for three minutes on the other. Turn off heat and cover pan for two minutes to let burgers continue to cook to medium doneness. Serve immediately for medium rare. If desired, toast buns briefly in pan. (Pan should still be hot enough for toasting.) Place burger atop two leaves of crisp lettuce inside bun. Top with ketchup, if desired.
EXTRA CREDIT
Remember those milk-bread rolls I had proofing? They were light, fluffy, and delicious perfect for burgers. Of course your favorite store-bought rolls, will do just fine, but if you like to try these...
MILK-BREAD ROLLS
- 1 c. plus 2 tbsp. flour
- 1/4 c. boiling water
- 1/2 c. milk
- 1 tsp. yeast
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. softened butter
Whisk 2 tbsp. flour and boiling water together in a small bowl until they form a thin paste. Add paste and milk to the bowl of a stand mixer or to a large bowl if mixing by hand. Whisk together until smooth. Add in all remaining ingredients and beat with dough hook or knead together into a smooth elastic ball. Lightly grease a clean bowl and transfer dough. Allow to sit covered for an hour until doubled in size. Punch dough to flatten rise and form into four equally shaped balls. You may need to dust dough and hands with flour to achieve this. Place balls on a baking sheet and flatten slightly, cut a cross in the top of each with a sharp knife and let rise 40 minutes to an hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes until golden brown.
