burgers – bespoke + custom cakes + cupcakes for special occasions

I don’t know about you, but I love aubergines (eggplant / brinjals)!

I’ve realised that a lot of people don’t know what to do with them, or haven’t even tried them before. They’re usually a hit with vegetarians because of their fleshy texture and is often used as a meat-substitute – but not in our house – no way! We love meat! So what better way to have aubergine, than with meat, on a burger!

This is a good paleo-friendly burger version – using grilled aubergine slices as the ‘bun’. You can put anything you feel like on your burger, but here’s what I did:

Grilled aubergine slices (brush with olive oil and grill on a griddle pan or straight on the braai / barbecue)

Sliced fresh tomatoes

Lettuce leaves

Fairview Blue en Blanc cheese (a creamy camembert-type cheese with blue vein running through – simply scrummy!)

Caramelised onion (onions sautéed in butter with a drizzle of honey and a splash of balsamic vinegar – sauté until nice and caramelised)

Burger patties (I used blouwildebeest – will also work nicely with ostrich or beef)

And last but DEFINITELY not least – grilled bacon strips

Assemble everything inbetween aubergine slices, secure with toothpicks and enjoy!

I’m such a huge Masterchef fan and I saw a great idea from SA finalist, Leandri – polenta chips (aka fries).

So I decided to try it out. Tonight we had paleo burgers (no bun!) with these yummy fries:

grill patties (I used venison) and stack with cheese slices, tomato, lettuce and basil. I also used a bit of mayonnaise and whole grain mustard on the patty after grilling.

serve with polenta chips:

cook polenta and pour into a buttered dish to set. Once set, turn out from dish and cut into thick chips. Dust with raw polenta and deep fry in sunflower oil until golden & crisp. Serve with tobasco mayonnaise.

We had real 80’s style retro dessert tonight – I made lemon ‘snow’ puddings from the South African classic ‘Kook en Geniet’ cookbook.

1.5 tbs gelatine

1/4 cup cold water

1 cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice and grated rind of half a lemon

2 egg whites

Pour gelatine powder into cold water and dissolve this in the hot water. Add sugar, lemon juice & rind. Let the sugar dissolve and pass through a sieve. Let mixture cool and start to set. Once it has started to get firm, whisk until it has a fluffy and frothy consistency. Whisk egg whites until stiff and fold into gelatine mixture. Place in a mold or glasses and set in fridge.

Enjoy! X

bespoke + custom cakes + cupcakes for special occasions

Tag: burgers

Grilled Aubergine Burgers

Paleo burgers & polenta chips