Day 13 – KC’s Grilled Haloumi and Mushroom Burgers

Late last year I went to the 2011 EatDrinkBlog conference in Sydney, a gathering of 200 Australian food bloggers and a wonderful opportunity to meet some fantastic people from around the country.

I fell in with a number of bloggers from Western Australia over a wonderful evening meal (okay, okay, and several subsequent drinks at a pub) and we shared tips, ideas, experiencesand the sheer joy of creative endeavour. We left with promises to contribute to each other’s blogs and to keep in touch.

So without further ado, please welcome the gorgeous Perth-based KC, teacher by day, incredibly inventive cook and writer by night. Her blog, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader is a riot of fresh produce, a commitment to keeping it real and the odd cocktail thrown in. She also happens to be the only female blogger I’ve met who’s taller than me, so all things considered she’s very impressive! Please drop by and say hello, I know she’d love to hear from you.

KC has kindly adapted one of her favourite recipes for the budget minded and admitted that keeping her recipes to a budget was a great challenge, but I think she’s hit all the right notes. This takes in the stars of autumn seasonal vegetables – mushrooms  and sweet potatoes – and then punches it up with some big flavours like tabasco and tequila. Yep, tequila.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

Mayonnaise: ½ cup mayonnaise; 1 tsp Tabasco OR ½ tsp chilli powder; A squeeze of lemon juice; 2 tsp tequila (optional)

Balsamic Glaze: 1 tbsp brown sugar; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar; salt and pepper to taste

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into “chips”; 4 large field mushrooms, stems/stalks removed; a handful of rocket (about 100g); 200g haloumi, cut into slices about 1 cm thick; 1 red onion, thinly sliced; 4 round bread rolls; 1 large tomato, thinly sliced

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Grease 2 baking trays and lay your sweet potato chips out on these. Salt liberally. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through and starting to brown on the edges.

While this is happening, prepare the rest of your meal…

Mix half of the mayonnaise and tabasco together, set aside.

Mix the rest of the mayo with the lemon juice and tequila, if using, then set aside.

Mix the sugar, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a dash of salt and pepper together in a little bowl with a fork.

Cook your onions over a medium heat with some olive oil in a frying pan. Set aside.

Brush the mushrooms on both sides with this glaze, then grill the mushrooms on a barbecue or a grill over a medium heat, about 4 minutes on each side (until cooked through). Set aside while you grill your haloumi.

Grill your haloumi in a frying pan over a medium heat until golden on both sides (about 2 mins on each side.) If you are a multitasking genius you could fry your mushrooms, onions and haloumi at the same time!

Then stack your burger together. I like to stack in this order: Mushroom on the bottom, haloumi slices on mushroom, onion on haloumi, then tomato and rocket.

Spread the Tabasco Mayo on the top bun, then place it on the top of your rocket. Et voilà: grilled haloumi burger.

Serve with the sweet potato chips and lemon tequila mayo on the side. For a lunch option, just make the burgers, they’re pretty filling as is.

COST

$14.00 for four hearty serves