My nephew Michael’s hamburger, complete with cheese and a bun. January remains in full swing. After a couple of weeks of holiday overindulgence, I have actually been back on my dietary cleaning program for a while now. I do not know whether I’ve been persuaded by the program (my coach is a very convincing lady!) or I just like being a little lighter, however I’m actually enjoying dieting.
Like lots of Americans, I have spent much of my life on diets. Experience tells me that the best mistake for the dieter is a feeling of deprivation. Virginia Willis comprehends that problem and addresses it remarkably in her current book Brighten Y’ all: Classic Southern Recipes Made Healthy and Wholesome (Ten Speed Press, 232 pages, $24.99).
Virginia is a French-trained chef who focuses on quality Southern cuisine. She lives in Georgia however invests a lot of time near my own corner of western Massachusetts. I have actually been following her writings for several years; she is an expert in one of my favorite styles of cuisine: stylish however simple home cooking.
Virginia admits early in the book that she has always had a weight problem and was just recently counseled by her physicians to “brighten up.” She set out to establish a series of dishes that would lose calories and acquire nutrition but not sacrifice taste.
The book consists of much healthier variations of such perennial favorites as macaroni and cheese, fried chicken (made in sticks on the oven), biscuits, seven-layer dip, and shrimp étoufée. Virginia even provides desserts: strawberry shortcake, cream-cheese brownies, and carrot cake, among other sweets.
I have actually tried only one recipe from the book up until now– Virginia’s chicken, apple, and cheddar hamburgers. My present program doesn’t enable me to consume any cheese, not even the percentage required in this dish, so I had to alter the flavor profile a little by serving the hamburgers without the cheese. (I did serve them with natural mustard.)
The burgers were a pleasure. Ground chicken has less fat than ground beef and can tend to dry. Virginia’s dish skillfully incorporates both grated apple and grated sweet onion into the chicken to add moisture and flavor. My family consumes the dish WITH the cheese and enjoys it.
I prepare to make several more dishes from Brighten, Y’ all in the near future. Virginia Willis has actually clearly striven to find solutions that keep the flavor in foods while making them much healthier.
Best of all, I visualize utilizing some of Virginia’s lightening-up methods in meals of my own. I trust her as a chef, a writer, and a dieter. And I look forward to the launching of her upcoming PBS television series.
Virginia Willis’s Chicken Burgers Thanks To Virginia Willis and 10 Speed Press. Used with consent.
Keep in mind: You may prepare these on the range in a fry pan as well as in the oven, however they remain together better for me (and probably for Virginia since she suggests doing them this way) in the oven. The ones in the images above and listed below were really fried by my sister-in-law!
Components:
1 medium sweet-tart apple (such as Gala, Granny Smith, Cortland, or Fuji), cored and quartered
1/4 sweet onion
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
3 garlic cloves, very finely sliced
1/2 jalapeño chile, cored, seeded, and carefully chopped
2 ounces (1/2 cup) sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (optional for me however yummy)
2 tablespoons sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley
coarse kosher salt and newly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Grate the apple on the large side of a box grater. (If you grate the apple skin-side out, you can grate it without having to peel it; a little bit of peel is alright.)
Next, grate the onion and the cheese. In a medium bowl combine the chicken, apple, onion, garlic, chile, cheese, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the mixture into 4 equal-size balls; each will weigh about 7 ounces. Forming each into a patty about 4 inches in diameter. Place the patties directly on the prepared flat pan.
Transfer the sheet to the oven and roast the hamburgers until they are lightly browned, turning when throughout cooking, and the temperature measures 165 degrees when determined with an instant-read thermometer, about 18 minutes. Serve right away. Serves 4.
My own burger, sans cheese but with mustard (and lots of flavor!)
