Just in case you don't know this, but for the first time ever, Iceland men's national football team competes in the final tournament of the UEFA EURO Championship! I am of course very proud and excited and wish them all the best. And for those of you who will be getting together to watch the football this is some great food to enjoy with your friends and family. Proper party food!
Proper party food!
I love making chicken patties/burgers and make it so often I could probably do it with my eyes closed :) And the best thing is that my kids love them! They are full of great things and you can sneak in all the vegetables you like with out them knowing it. You can eat them in a bun but it's not necessary, I usually don't put them in buns. Just some sweet potato fries or a salad and a sauce to dip in is all you really need. And these are so versatile. I hardly ever make the same type twice. You can put in them all sorts of vegetables, carrots, broccoli, sweet potato, beetroot, celeriac.... the list just goes on and on. This time I am making one type with courgettes and the other with butternut squash. And you can put in all the herbs and spices you want or not put in any at all, it's completely up to you. And if you don't have chicken, you can change it for turkey mince.
Each recipe will give you approximately 8 small patties
The two mixtures ready to be fried
Courgette patties
400 gr minced chicken
1 courgette
1 garlic clove
1/2 red onion (you can use regular onion, spring onion, leek... what ever you fancy)
small handful chopped parsley
zest of one lime or lemon
juice from half a lime or lemon
1 egg
approx 5 tablespoons almond flour (you can use coconut flour or just normal flour)
salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying (I sometimes use Ghee, that gives them a really nice flavour)
Put the chicken in a bowl. Grate the courgette with a fine grater. Squeeze out most of the juice because it just makes the mixture to wet. Grate or mince the garlic and add that in. Chop the onion as finely as you possibly can and add that in. Zest and juice of the lime and the parsley. Mix in the egg and almond flour. You don't want too much of the flour, just enough for the patties to hold together when they cook. You can always add more. Season with salt and pepper.
When you start frying them, always start with just one patty and taste and add some seasoning if it needs it. Fry them in the oil on a medium heat, you don't want them to brown to much before they are cooked through. I use a spoon to put them into the pan because these mixtures are a little bit on the wet side and you can't really mould them with your hands.
Butternut squash patties
400 gr. minced chicken
1/3 of butternut squash
1 garlic clove
1/2 red onion (you can use regular onion, spring onion, leek... what ever you fancy)
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of chilli flakes
1 egg
approx 5 tablespoons almond flour (or other kind of flour)
salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying (I sometimes use Ghee, that gives them a really nice flavour)
Heat oven to 200° fan. Cut the squash into small-is pieces and bake in a little oil in the oven until slightly browned. You want that brown baked flavour. Purée the squash and add to the minced chicken. grate or mince the garlic and add that in. Chop the onion as finely as you can and add that in. Put in all the spices and add the egg and almond flour. Season with salt and pepper. As with the other patties, try frying one first and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Fry on a medium heat until cooked through.
With this I made some sweet potato fries and a very simple burger sauce.
Cut the sweet potato into fries, drizzle with rapeseed oil or olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook in 200° fan oven for 20-30 minutes until nice and golden brown. I like it when the edges are almost burnt.
For the sauce I mix together salsa sauce and créme fraiche or if I would have had any this time I would have used the amazing Icelandic Skyr. I usually have a 50/50 ratio between the two ingredients, and just add a bit more of one or the other depending on how I like the taste. If you are using a hot salsa then you might want to have a bit less of that and a bit more of the créme fraiche.
ÁFRAM ÍSLAND!!!