Burger night is one of our favorite summer menus. I cook vegetarian for Jeremy and me, so when we fire up the grill, our idea of burger night turns into a plant-based extravaganza. We love this healthy, summertime dinner.
Portobello burgers
A good veggie burger is hard to find. Most of the prepared options you can buy are filled with numerous ingredients, fillers and textures with names that are hard to pronounce. Our version of the veggie burger is a grilled portobello mushroom cap. We do a simple marinade and cook them on the grill. Our toppings are a big source of flavor and our favorites include alfalfa sprouts, avocado slices and grilled onions. We eat our burgers on Trader Joe’s whole wheat buns.
Directions
- Remove stem from portobello caps and rinse.
- Place in a container for marinating, stem side up (to hold the liquids).
- Generously drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Cover and let sit for 1 to 8 hours.
- Preheat grill and prepare toppings. We cook our onions in foil and olive oil on the grill, too.
- Place portobello caps on the grill, stem side up to retain juices as they cook.
- Cook on side one until.
- Flip burgers, cook.
- When burgers and onions are cooked, toast briefly on the grill.
- Assemble burgers with toppings and enjoy!
Roasted fingerling potatoes
The simplicity of roasted fingerling potatoes makes them an all star at our house. On burger night, they help provide the feeling of having fries without the guilt.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Rinse potatoes in water to clean.
- Layout on baking sheet. Toss with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt.
- Roast until cooked and skin is beginning to crisp, stirring several times. Around 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with additional salt if desired.
Sweet potato “chips”
A good friend turned me on to this preparation of sweet potato fries years ago, and I’ve never gone back. The kids love them and so do we!
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees (it’s okay to cook these hotter if you’re making the )
- Wash sweet potato and peel (or not, depending on your liking).
- Thinly slice the short way in to coins / chips. They key is to try to get each coin about the same thickness.
- Lay out chips on a baking sheet, totally naked, no olive oil needed.
- Bake 15 minutes or so.
- Flip over coins with tongs, bake until cooked and no longer crunchy/raw. Watch carefully so the thinner chips don’t start to burn.
- Remove from oven. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Caprese salad
Directions
We could eat this salad every night in the summer. Use quantities that are right for the number around your table.
- Sugar plum tomatoes, sliced in half.
- Fresh mozzarella sliced into squares.
- Fresh basil leaf, sliced or scissored thin.
- Extra virgin olive oil, tossed to coat.
- Balsamic vinegar to taste.
- Sea salt to taste.
- Gently toss everything together.
Hyatt family eats are occasional posts devoted to sharing some of the things our family is cooking. We believe in a whole-foods, minimally-processed approach to nutrition that is realistic for a busy family of four. We’d love to hear about what you’re eating too! Email us at Go@HyattTraining.com
