RECIPE: Healthy Gourmet Junk Food: Fries Burger Shake

These recipes are meant to go together and highlight South American flavors with a balance of sweet, tangy, and spicy.  Let’s face it, there is a time and place for a burger, fries, and shake.. and these are healthy, vegan, and quite delicious.  Have at it, eaters.
Chimichurri Burger

Type: Burger            Serves: 2
Time to Prepare: 10 minutes
Ingredients
The Burger

• 2 buns, toasted
• 2 vegan burger patties (see the latest issue of the Vegan Culinary Experience to get some amazing burger patty recipes)
• 1 tsp. of olive oil
• 1 large roasted green chile (such as a Hatch chile) or ¼ cup of roasted, diced green chiles
• 4-6 raw Brazil nuts, chopped
• Option:  2 slices of white vegan cheese

The Sauce

• 1 cup of chopped flatleaf parsley
• 2 tbsp. of white vinegar (white balsamic makes the best sauce)
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp. of cracked black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. of salt

Instructions

• Toast the buns over a medium-high heat in a dry pan for about 30 seconds per side or in the oven on 325 degrees for about 1 minute.
• Over a medium heat, sauté the patties in the oil until brown on both sides.
• Option:  Brush the patties with oil and grill them over wood-fire grill for a smoky flavor.
• Option:  If you use the cheese, cook on side of the burger, flip it, lower the heat to medium, add the cheese, cover the pan, and cook the other side of the burger for about 2 minutes.
• Chop the roasted chile into large pieces and give the Brazil nuts a rough chop.
• Puree all the ingredients for the sauce.
• Dress the patties with the sauce, then the chiles, and then the Brazil nuts.

Low-fat Version: Omit the oil from the chimichurri sauce.  If you want to omit the Brazil nuts, add a few slices of celery to get the crunch back to the burger.
Raw Version: Use your favorite raw patty (see the raw patty recipe from this issue) and your favorite raw flatbread or a large lettuce leaf.  Instead of a roasted chile, use a chopped Hatch or poblano chile.  The chimichurri sauce should remain as is.  The raw version of this goes incredibly well with a sunflower seed “cheese.”
Presentation: The burger has a very enticing look to it with the brilliant green sauce, the chopped nuts, and the luscious roasted chiles, so I usually serve the top of the bun on the side.  You can also drizzle some chimichurri sauce on the plate and/or garnish the plate with a few extra chopped Brazil nuts.
Time Management: This burger is super fast to put together, so there isn’t much to worry about in the way of time management.
Complementary Food and Drinks: The burger is spicy, so serve it with a sweet drink, but one that’s not acidic.  Try a sweet tea or a blended watermelon cooler.
Where to Shop: Large roasted chiles can usually be found in the Mexican aisle of your local grocery store.  Raw Brazil nuts can be found at Trader Joe’s and also in stores that sell items from bulk bins, like Whole Foods.  Approximate cost per serving is $2.00.
How It Works; The roasted chile provides a soft, lush texture to the burger and a smooth, semi-sweet flavor while the Brazil nuts give the burger some contrasting crunch.  The chimichurri is basically a parsley puree made tangy with the vinegar and smoothed out with the olive oil.  It’s an explosive flavor that brings the burger to life.
Chef’s Notes: When I first made this burger, I thought the chimichurri sauce would be the star of the burger, but it actually turned out to be the trinity of the sauce, the roasted chile, and the Brazil nuts.  Without one of those ingredients, the burger is greatly diminished. Chimichurri shows its Spanish roots with the strong use of vinegar in the sauce.
Coconut Almond Shake

Type:     Dessert        Serves: 3
Time to Prepare: 10 minutes
Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. of slivered almonds, toasted
• 3 tbsp. of shredded coconut, toasted
• 1 pint of coconut-based ice cream
• ½ tsp. of almond extract
• Option:  ¼ cup of rum

Instructions

• Toast the almonds over a medium heat in a dry pan until they just barely develop some browning.
• Repeat this with the coconut.
• Puree the ice cream, almond extract, and optional rum.
• Top each shake with the coconut and then the almonds.

Time Management: Make sure the coconut shreds and almonds are cool before placing them on the shake.  Otherwise, they’ll melt the shake and create a mess.
Where to Shop: Try places like Whole Foods for the coconut-based ice cream.  Approximate cost per serving is $3.00.
How It Works: The almond extract infuses the coconut ice cream with a light almond flavor.  Because it’s so powerful, you don’t need to use a lot of it.  The toasted coconut and almonds are there for both texture and presentation.
Chef’s Notes: Try a bit of lime juice in this shake for a fun Thai-inspired variation!
Interesting Facts: Coconuts are so water resistant and buoyant that they can travel across an ocean and still be edible.
Plantain Fries & Chips

Type:     Side        Serves: 4
Time to Prepare: 20 minutes
Ingredients

• 4 unripe (green) plantains
• Zest of 3 limes
• Canola or peanut oil
• ½ tsp. of coarse sea salt
• ½ tsp. of ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. of ground black pepper

Instructions

• Remove both ends of the plantains.
• Make a very shallow incision following the inside curve of the plantains, then gently peel back the skin.
• Slice the plantains in half.
• Cut them into fries or chips and set them aside.
• Zest the limes and set the zest aside.
• Heat the oil to 375 degrees F in a Dutch oven, fryer, or other heavy-bottomed pot (you will need enough to thoroughly cover the fries).
• Fry the plantains in batches, about 1 minute per batch.
• Place them on a rack or paper towels to dry.
• As soon as all the fries are done, toss them with the salt, cinnamon, pepper, and lime zest.

Low-fat Version: Place these in a dehydrator on 107 degrees for 12 hours after tossing the raw plantains with the lime zest, salt, cinnamon, and pepper.
Raw Version: As above.
Time Management: Even unripe plantains still have quite a bit of sugar in them, so don’t fry the plantains too long, or else the sugar will burn.  The exact time depends on how thick and what stage of ripeness the plantains are at, so it will take some practice.
Complementary Food and Drinks: These are great accompaniments to tacos, Caribbean bowls, and most Central American dishes.
Where to Shop: The best plantains are usually found at markets that specialize in Mexican ingredients.  Look for green or slightly yellow plantains.  They are more starchy than sugary and are hard enough to withstand being fried.  Approximate cost per serving is $1.00.
How It Works: The plantains fry for a short amount of time to avoid burning the natural sugar in the plantain.  They are then tossed with cinnamon to bring out some sweetness, pepper to add sharp note, and lime zest to brighten the entire dish.
Chef’s Notes: This is just a fun dish to make and even more fun to eat!  I often dress mine with cayenne pepper to add some extra heat to them.
Interesting Facts: Plantain is properly pronounced plan’-ten.