Mum's Chicken Burgers

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

I figured this would be a great day to tell you about a lovely recipe of my Mum's.

Now I know blogworld has gone crazy talking about how much they love their mothers, and as much as I shouldn't need a day to mention why I love my mother, I may as well mention her today. I really do love my Mum (and I will be home in a month from today!).

She is such a strong, independant women, which is what I admire most about people - no matter what happens my Mum will always be able to pick herself up, and everybody else around her and get on with her life. She is also beautiful and brave, though she doesn't think she is either of those things. But mostly, she is the best mother in the world (and I'm not just saying this because I'm biased). Whenever I have a problem, whether I be struggling with some silly moral decision, or whether I am upset with how I look, or having a bad day, or got a bad grade, or spent the week without exercising and am feeling guilty, she is there for me. Even when she doesn't really understand the problem. She always tries to make it better (which often makes me angry) but she is trying to do the right thing. And if I am upset, she reminds me how lucky I am - to have parents like I do.

Thanks Mum, for teaching me the most important things in my life (I know you're reading this). I never say it enough, but thanks. I think I have a pretty decent moral compass, I know a good book when I see one, I know what I should and shouldn't eat, and I know how important love is.

So Mum, this is for you. And it is one of the best things you ever taught me to cook. And one of my favourite meals ever - life wouldn't be complete without chicken burgers every Friday and some movie that only two of us family members like.

These chicken burgers are really easy, very delicious, and can be whipped up in a few minutes. They are hearty and filling when served as a burger, but taste amazing crumbled in a salad the next day. You can't go wrong with them (unless of course you add beetroot, which is wrong).

Level of Difficulty: Easy – so wonderfully easy

Average Cost: $

Main Ingredients: chicken, tomato chutney – chose a really good, strong one

Occasion: Dinner and lunch – would make a lovely light lunch with a salad and no bun

Menu Options: Serve the patties with whatever buns you chose. And whatever trimmings you want – mushrooms, onions, lettuce, cheese, tomato, pineapple, sauce. Though if you chose beetroot I may have to stop being your friend. I really hate beetroot – quick side note: In Australia, beetroot is commonplace on burgers. At school, tuckshop was always healthy except on burger day. And every burger day I had to ask for no beetroot on my burger because it is automatically put on burgers here (much to my disgust).

Makes 6-8 burger patties, depending on size.Nutrition stats are for the burger patties alone and will alter depending on what tomato chutney you use.

What you need:

-          400-500g lean ground chicken / chicken mince

-          2 tbsp tomato chutney (I use Outback Spirit)

-          1 egg

-          3-4 tbsp breadcrumbs (your choice of type)

NOTE: You can mix in other veggies or sauces/salsas if you want. You can add spices – chicken is a staple in the diet of almost every culture so any spices you add will work well. I recommend trying it with a decent chutney first, as the flavour is amazing – delicate tomato and juicy chicken. It truly is so simple, but so tasty.

What to do:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. You can use a spoon to to stir the ingredients together – make sure the chicken is coated in the chutney, egg and breadcrumbs.

Heat some oil in a frypan – just a little, you don’t need a lot.

I use an egg shaper to shape my patties into lovely circular mounds. If you can’t or don’t want to use an egg shaper, just make sure the patties are the same size and thickness of an egg shaper. This also means they will cook fast.

Cook patties for approximately five minutes on each side or until the patties are browned.

Serve with whatever buns and trimmings you chose. And don't forget chips. As if you could.