Spanish hamburger is an extremely popular food that may be consumed as a snack or meal and may use certain native Spanish ingredients apart from the regular ham, onion, tomato, lettuce, pickles, and cheese. It is called 'hamburguesa' in Spanish. As such beef burgers are quite popular in Spain as in several other countries too. Although a number of different ingredients have today made way into the traditional Spanish hamburger, the basic method of preparation is as follows-
Spanish Style Hamburgers
Ingredients
- minced beef/pork
- onion
- Olive oil
- garlic cloves
- flat leaf parsley
- egg
- fresh breadcrumbs
- Salt and black pepper
- Milk
- Flour
Method
The onion is chopped finely and sautéed in heated olive oil to soften. To minced meat in a bowl, the remaining ingredients: finely chopped garlic, parsley, beaten egg, fresh breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and a little milk are added and mixed well. Milk is to ensure moist and juicy texture of end product. For an even more tenderness a splash of olive oil may be added to the mixture.
Once the onions are soft, these are added along with rest of the ingredients and mixed well. Hamburgers are then shaped by portioning handful of the mixture, forming into balls, and then flattening out to create a hamburger patty shape. These are then coated with flour, shaking off excess before pan frying in olive oil until cooked through and both sides develop a golden brown appearance.
The patties are placed between burger buns, along with regular onion, tomato, lettuce, but perhaps with additional sweet paprika or special Spanish peppers like Pimientos. These are topped with cheese and grilled till done.
Presentation
The Spanish Hamburgers may be usually served along with chips and fried egg, or alongside some grilled Mediterranean vegetables such as diced courgettes, aubergine or even fried peppers. Mustard or ketchup is served on the side.
Nutritional Value
A serving size of ~220 g provides-
· 214.6 calories with 96 calories from fat
· 10.6 g total fat with 4.1 g saturated fat; 60.8 mg cholesterol
· 9.3 g total carbohydrates with 0.9 g dietary fiber and 5.3 g sugar
· 377.5 mg sodium; 309 mg potassium
· 19.8 g protein
Nutritional Improvement
· Use of lean meat cuts (sirloin/chuck) would help keep total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol levels in check.
· Opting for certain healthy ingredients in the making of the burger would increase its nutritional value. For instance – while inclusions such as mushrooms, guacamole, or low-fat American cheese would be ‘Good’ or ‘healthy’; opting for mayonnaise, bacon, or blue cheese would prove ‘Bad’ or ‘unhealthy’ in terms of overall fat intake.
