All fast food does not need to be unhealthy, and this recipe here is a perfect example of a quick, delicious recipe that satisfies our junk-cravings (I still have them sometimes) without being loaded with unhealthy crap. I do love vegetable burgers, and I often use them in my burgers, but today I opted for halloumi cheese instead, because it is so incredibly salty and chewy that I just love it. Especially with avocado! If you are fully plant-based, I would recommend substituting it with tempeh.
For the buns, I always choose dark whole wheat buns. I am sure you find something nice from your local stores. For my own burgers, I toast the buns, so they are a little crispy. My boyfriend does not like crispy and crunchy food (weird, if you ask me, but oh well), so I usually just add his buns to the pan on top of the halloumi slices for the last few minutes, so they warm through.
The mayonnaise is not mandatory here, but I like to use some for more moisture. I use a very light mayonnaise that is locally produced here in Estonia, so sharing a brand with you here would not make sense, but choose whatever you like or just omit it entirely and add more avocado if you feel like it.
The recipe itself is a straightforward and quick one – a real fast food, and even the most inexperienced chef will have it on the table in 15 minutes.
Healthy Avocado & Halloumi Burgers
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yields: 4 burgers, but we usually have 2 burgers each
7 oz halloumi cheese
4 whole-grain buns
2 small ripe avocados
1 lime
Pickled jalapeno, to taste (I added heaps)
½ onion, thinly sliced
1 large tomato
Salt
4 tsp mayonnaise
Instructions:
Slice the halloumi to about 1-cm slices and fry or grill on medium heat until golden on both sides – it takes about 5 minutes
Sprinkle the thinly sliced onion with a little salt, squeeze on the juice of ½ lemon, massage it between your fingers, and set aside to wait.
Mix the avocado with the rest of the lime juice, tiny bit of salt, and chopped jalapeno.
Toast the buns and slice the tomato.
To serve, divide mashed avocado between the buns, top with marinated onion, halloumi, and tomato. Add the mayonnaise and top with the other half of buns.
Enjoy!
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She does love to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: www.kahvliga.ee
Practice this 25-minute yoga class for FREE before or after eating these delicious healthy burgers!
Not an All or Nothing Practice with Christen Bakken