Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Sage Aioli

To download a copy of the recipe for Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Sage Aioli, click HERE.

In this week’s recipe, three of my favorite things – tuna, food that’s low-fat and nutritious, and fresh-cooked burgers – are combined into one delicious meal that’s easy to make and satisfying to eat. Whether you’re cooking dinner for your family or feeding friends at a summer cookout, Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Sage Aioli are a great alternative to the usual ground beef or ground turkey burger. And the natural goodness of tuna – including high quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids and the antioxidant mineral selenium – is made even better when you serve them on whole grain rolls with turkey bacon, low fat cheese, cooked onions, or any other low fat topping you like!

The nutritional value of tuna in its many forms is worth checking out. Many on-line sources are available; the Livestrong site (http://www.livestrong.com/tuna-nutrition-information/) is one I continue to recommend for useful nutritional background information.

This recipe makes 4 meal-size burgers.

Here are the ingredients you need:

For the lemon sage aioli: ½ cup low fat mayonnaise; 2 cloves garlic; 1 tablespoon dried sage; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

For the tuna burger patties: 1 pound fresh (preferred and strongly recommended) or good quality canned; 2 egg-substitute eggs; 2 Tbsp grated carrot; ¼ cup chopped green onions; 2 Tbsp minced celery; 1-1/2 Tbsp prepared horseradish; 2 Tbsp prepared sweet pickle relish; ¼ tsp Worcestershire; ¼ tsp ground ginger; ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper; 2 tsp dried parsley; ½ cup corn meal; olive oil for sauté.

Other Items for Serving: 4 whole grain burger rolls; burger toppings as desired (e.g. low-fat cheese, turkey bacon, tomatoes, reduced fat potato chips, etc.).

First, we’ll make the aioli:

Chop the garlic cloves. Use the flat of the knife blade to press them into a paste.

Combine the remaining aioli ingredients with the garlic paste in a bowl.

Whisk until smooth. Cover and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Next, we’ll prepare the burgers patties:

If using fresh tuna, use a very sharp knife to cut the tuna into a ¼” dice.

Combine the tuna, egg, onion, carrot, green onion, celery, horseradish, pickle relish, Worcestershire, ginger, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup of the aioli in a bowl.

Mix well.

With the corn meal and parsley combined in a bowl, divide the tuna mixture into four equal parts. (It will feel a little loose, but that’s ok. Just handle it carefully.) Using wet hands to keep the tuna mixture from sticking to them, form each into a patty and gently dredge in the corn meal mixture until lightly coated.

Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To cook the burgers:

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary (depending on the size of the pan), place the patties in the pan.

Cook the patties till cooked through and well-browned; this will take about 3 – 4 minutes per side if you’re using fresh tuna, and a bit less if you’re using canned. Set aside when done.

 To serve the burgers:

Use the same pan to lightly toast the burger rolls, applying a little more oil if needed.

Place each patty on a toasted bun, and top with 1 Tbsp of the aioli and any other desired toppings.

To download a copy of the recipe for Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Sage Aioli, click HERE.

Hope you and your family and guests enjoy having these very special burgers!

Please visit again next week for another easy, delicious, kitchen-tested recipe. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Potato-Free Veggie Burgers on Herbed One-Hour Buns

To download a copy of the recipe for Herbed One-Hour Buns, click HERE.

To download the recipe for the Veggie Burgers, click HERE.

A warm Kissing the Cook welcome to new subscriber Hayley. Greetings!


Meat-free patties, affectionately known as veggie burgers, might at first seem to be a product of the age of Aquarius and health-conscious eating, but they’ve really been around much longer than that. On several continents as well. And as good as many of the patty recipes are, they have (to me, at least) one great shortcoming: whatever vegetables are used to make the patty are mixed into a potato base. I love potatoes as much as anyone, but if I wanted a “carb burger” I’d have asked for one. I want my veggie burger to be a veggie burger.

In today’s recipe for Potato-less Veggie Burgers on Herbed One-Hour Buns, the vegetables are cooked in a base of grated carrots that were simmered in vegetable broth (with a splash of white wine for good measure) till they’re the consistency of the grated potatoes so many other recipes use. There are still carbs, of course – there’s whole wheat flour in the mix for consistency and, of course, you’re serving your veggie burger on a bun. (You can choose to make the herbed one-hour buns included here, or use ready-made buns. You make the call.) Either way, these are both healthy and tasty.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin.

• If you’ve never made bread before, these one-hour buns are a good introduction. They’re made with about twice as much yeast as regular bread dough, and so rise and proof much faster. (They may end up taking a little longer than an hour to make, but you get the idea.) It’s an easy bread to make, even on relatively short notice, and is an extremely useful item to have in your repertoire. This recipe makes 12 burger-size rolls, which is twice the number you’ll need for the burgers. It’s ok. They’re good rolls. You’ll use them.

• When cutting the vegetables for making the Veggie Burger, it’s important to get a good fine chop as shown in the photos. The smaller the pieces, the better the patty will hold together when everything is mixed. (The pieces should, of course, be as close to the same size as possible for even cooking.)

• If you like, you can make these into sliders instead of full-size burgers. Just make the patties and the buns smaller.

This recipe makes six meal-size Veggie Burgers, plus additional rolls.

First, let’s make our herbed buns. (If you’re using ready-made buns, just skip this part.)

In a small bowl, dissolve two ¼ ounce packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast and 3 Tbsp sugar in ½ cup of very warm water (about 110 degrees) and let stand for 5 minutes. The mixture should become frothy.

Mix 3 cups of all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking soda and 1-1/2 tsp salt together in a large mixing bowl. (Be sure to mix the dry ingredients well. If the yeast you’re about to add comes into direct contact with the salt, it will kill the yeast and your bread won’t rise.) Add the yeast mixture, 1 cup of skim milk and 2 Tbsp of melted butter substitute. Add 1 tsp dried marjoram.

While mixing, add up to an additional 1-1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a dough.

When all of the flour is incorporated, knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding some additional dough flour if necessary for a smooth texture.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set the bowl on the stove, and let the dough rise till doubled in size, about 25 minutes.

After the dough has risen, press it down to deflate it. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and divide it into 12 equal parts. Shape each into the desired shape. To get a classic roll shape as shown:

• Roll each dough piece into a strand about ¾” in diameter and around 9” long.

• Gently tie the strand into an overhand knot.

• Tuck the two ends of the knot, one on top and one on the bottom, into the rest of the roll.

Place the formed dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking sheet, and cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap. Let proof at room temperature for another 20 minutes.

While the rolls are proofing, preheat oven to 425 degrees. (The top of the stove while the oven is preheating is a good place to proof the rolls.)

Bake the rolls until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes. Let the rolls cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then place them on a rack to cool.

Now for the Veggie Burgers!

Heat ½ Tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Add 1 cup of finely chopped celery, ½ a finely chopped medium red onion (about ½ cup); ¼ cup very finely chopped red bell pepper; and 1 tsp very finely chopped jalapeno; and let cook for about five minutes.

Add ½ tsp chili powder; ½ tsp paprika; and 1 Tbsp salt, and heat until cooked through. Add 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic and cook for another minute, then transfer the cooked vegetables to a bowl and set aside.

Put 2 cups of grated carrots in the same skillet, and add enough vegetable broth to just cover. (That will usually be about 1 to 1-1/4 cups.) Add a splash of white wine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the carrots are soft but not mushy. This can take several minutes of simmering. Be patient with it.

Add the cooked carrots to the cooked vegetables, along with a thawed and drained 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary; and 1 egg-substitute egg.

Add enough whole wheat flour to make the mixture thick enough to form patties, about ¾ cups.

When the mixture is the right texture, you should be able to make it a large patty in the bowl.

Divide the mixture into six parts and form patties on a foil-lined baking sheet. Chill the patties in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

When the patties have been chilled, heat ½ Tbsp of olive oil and a little butter substitute in a non-stick skillet, and cook the patties in batches until cooked through and well-browned on the outside, about five minutes per side. Don’t be afraid to let get a good browning as shown in the photo.

Serve on the rolls with the desired toppings. In the photo, I’ve got a slice of fat-free cheese, ketchup and mustard (my usual burger toppings), and I did another with steak sauce and some prepared horseradish. Just treat it as you would any other burger, and I believe you’ll be pleased with the result!

To download a copy of the recipe for Herbed One-Hour Buns, click HERE.

To download the recipe for the Veggie Burgers, click HERE.

Hope you enjoy these easy, good-for-you burgers, and that you’ll visit again next week for another kitchen-tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Tzatziki Corn Salad

A warm welcome to new subscriber Jacqueline!

With summer now in full swing, a lot of food talk naturally turns to cookout-type food. Here’s an easy, delicious side dish for your next backyard gathering or company picnic: Tzatziki Corn Salad.

Corn salads are usually pretty popular, and with good reason: they’re tasty and refreshing to eat, and easy to make, even in large quantities. While the vegetables in them can vary somewhat, the big difference between corn salads often lies in the choice of dressing. For this version, I’m using a tzatziki sauce. While Greece has made countless contributions to western civilization, all that art, mathematics and philosophy pale next to a good tzatziki, a tangy yogurt-and-cucumber based white sauce. Even if you don’t make this corn salad, the tzatziki sauce will be a useful addition to your repertoire. Opa, indeed!

This recipe makes about 6 cups of corn salad.

To make the sauce:

Combine ¾ cup fat free Greek yogurt; ½ medium cucumber (seeds removed), finely chopped; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; 2 garlic cloves, finely minced; ½ tablespoon olive oil; 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar; and either 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano. Set the sauce aside while you work with the vegetable.

The make the vegetable mix:

You’ll need either 12 ears of corn, silks and husks removed, or 4 cups of frozen corn kernels thawed and patted dry with a paper towel. Apply a small amount of olive oil the corn (just enough to lightly coat for grilling), and grille until the corn is lightly browned. (Don’t kill it; you’re just looking to give it a little color and mild grilled taste.) Set the corn aside and let cool. If you’re using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob after the corn has cooled.

Combine the corn, 4 cups of diced tomatoes (fresh or well-drained canned), 1 finely chopped green or orange pepper, ½ cup of minced onion, and 1 minced large stalk of celery in a large bowl. (Adding some diced, cooked bacon here is optional, but highly recommended.) Drain again to remove any extra liquid so that the tzatziki sauce does not get diluted.

Add the sauce and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. For best flavor, refrigerate overnight to chill the salad and give the flavors a chance to combine. Garnish with parsley before serving, and you’ve got a winner!

As always, if you prefer a cookbook style, notebook-ready version of this recipe, send me a note or a comment along with your e-mail address, and it shall be yours.

That’s it for now. I’m looking forward to sharing another easy, delicious, reduced-fat dish with you next week. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)