home-made burgers & ketchup

i'm finally back with some food. and it's something i really love: an honest meal. burgers and fries. they're best when they're home-made. let me tell you this much about this home-made burger and ketchup: food. bliss.

for the burgers
take 400 g of best lamb loin, one finely chopped and briefly sweated onion and garlic clove, half a chopped old white bread, one egg and some chopped parsley. mix everything in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, some cumin and harissa. shape balls and flatten slightly. fry in pan on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. season with salt, cover in aluminium foil and keep warm in the oven for a few minutes.
slice the bread of your choice and quickly heat up in the oven to make it crispy.

for the ketchup
take a bunch of aromatic cherry tomatoes (i used a mix of yellow, red and black ones), and half them. first, fry a sweet, chopped onion together with one garlic clove and some chile in a little olive oil. fry well until brown. add two tablespoons of sugar and allow onion-mix to caramelize. then add the tomatoes together with two tablespoons of tomato-puree. season with a teaspoon of sea salt, some pepper and chili flakes, and a teaspoon of cumin and coriander, each. let simmer for 20 minutes on low heat and then put aside and let cool.

for the yoghurt sauce
take a greek yoghurt and add a small cup full of chopped cilantro and some chopped mint. season with some lime skin, a spoonful of fresh lime juice, some sea salt and fresh pepper.

for the potatoes / fries
if you must peel the potatoes (i don't bother), then slice potatoes in quarters or eighth (depending on size). put in a bowl and mix well with two tablespoons of olive oil and some coarse sea salt. place on a baking sheet in the oven, and bake for around 40 minutes or slightly more at 220 degrees. be careful not to place too many potatoes on the baking sheet, allow them some space. otherwise they will not become crispy.

to assemble the burger / garnish
use some lettuce leaves, a slice of vegetable onion and some arugula. take the bottom side of the bread, add lettuce, then meat, ketchup, yoghurt, onion and arugula. top with bread. place some potatoes on the plate next to the burger and garnish with a slice of lime.
you can also put all the ingredients on the table for everyone to make their own burgers.