Bread Free Burgers

Recipe one!  Here is a recipe I was just playing around with last night, because I had burger cravings...

This recipe is free of: gluten, grains, sugar, dairy.

Ingredients
500gms beef mince, butter, 2-3 cloves garlic, 6-8 mushrooms, 1 onion finely diced, 1-2 chili (if you like things spicy), 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1tsp oregano, 1 tsp moroccan spices, 1/2 tsp stock, (other herbs and spices optional), 1 heaped Tbs tomato paste, 1-2 eggs, 1-2 cups ground linseed, worsterschire sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper.
To serve: balsamic vinegar, sliced beetroot, gherkins, grated carrot, sliced tomatoes, ice berg lettuce, avocado.

Method
Start by frying onions in butter, when softish add mushrooms diced, and garlic, peeled and crushed, and chili, finely diced, splash in some worsterschire sauce and some soy sauce, just to wet it.
In a bowl add the onion mix (once cooked) to the mince and then add the eggs (I put in three but it was way too wet, start with one and increase if you need more 'stickyness'), ground linseed (the ground linseed is in place of breadcrumbs, breadcrumbs work better because they are more crunchy, but ce la vie), all herbs and spices, stock, more worsterchire, a little more soy and tomato paste.  Mix it all together and if it is not wet enough to hold together, add an egg, if it is not dry enough to hold together, add more linseed.

Butter a pan on medium heat, roll mince mix into balls, squash flat and fry on both sides for 5-10 minutes until brown and cooked through.

Put a big, washed ice berg lettuce leaf on a plate and top with the patty, sliced gherkin, sliced tomato, pile of grated carrot, drizzle on some oil and some balsamic, slice of beetroot, avocado to top, salt and pepper.
Wrap the leaf up like a parcel and chow down. 

Avocado is where it's at for getting some good, satisfying fat content in this meal.  You could make like Martha (stewart) and mix it up into a guacamole first.

N.B. if you're not so worried about having dairy, you could add a few thin slices of cheese on top of the patty's when you are making the burger. Cheese. Nom. 
N.B. you can chop and add all sorts of herbs and spices to this, rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley - all good.


How high maintenance is this meal: 7/10
It definitely takes a bit of prep, a fair few ingredients, and a bit of standing around cooking.


Is it worth it?Yes, if you want a burger, but you don't want to eat bread.  Sometimes you just gotta put in the effort.

Nutritional benefits?
Yes. Red meat is the place to get your iron and B12.  Nutrients essential for energy and nervous system function.
Salad is high in fibre which keeps things healthy south of the border and just to the front and round to the left, you know where I mean.  
Cautionary note - try and get mince with not that much fat, organic is really good because it means no antibiotics and chemicals, and nitrate free would be nice.  Supermarkets spray their meat with nitrates to make it look healthy an pink.  Nitrates are known carcinogens (cause cancer).  So yeah. Pick your battles.