A hot date

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance

-Oscar Wilde

Amelie: A girl with an overactive imagination who enjoyed life's simple pleasures

 So it's Saturday night and I'm home alone.  Abandoned by my parents who have gone off on a gourmet adventure in Orange, dogged by my brother who has gone off celebrating at an eighteenth birthday party, and rejected by my boyfriend who's having a guys poker night, I have been left to watch over the pets and toil over my university work. My first instinct was to cry in despair, but after five minutes of sulking in a dark corner on the floor with as much motivation as I could muster I picked up my soggy, sad self. I'd been feeling a little off all day, but I knew that a good meal does wonders for the heart and soul. So with that wisdom and my mother's suggestion to treat myself, I set off to the kitchen for some cooking therapy. On offer were hamburger patties, provided by my mother to cook in her absence. However, being such a curious kitchen dweller, one who always wants something a little more left of centre, I just needed to break free of the boundaries of the standard hamburger. Inspired by my fellow foodie Gemma, I decided to be a cheap glut and whip up a feast using what was in my house. My idea was to create Mexican hamburgers. 

I love Mexican food: the spices, the textures, that warm, tingly, creamy sensation that leaves one happy from eating something a little bit too hot. Chilli, is awesome for your immune system, and apparently has medicinal uses (in fact my exploding headache prior to dinner has been eradicated by the consumption of it). Not being a fan of huge, white, buns (well, the bread ones anyway), I decided to use one of the wholemeal wraps leftover from dinner a few nights ago. I also had an overripe avocado and a lime lying around, perfect for some Guacamole. There were also plenty of tomatoes in the fruit bowl to throw together a salsa. How exciting!

Mexican Hamburgers

For one 

(or more...just increase the recipe)

Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp chilli paste (or fresh chilli)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tomatoes, diced

* You could also add green capsicum, but I didn't have any

Method  

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. 
2. Add chilli and capsicum (if you have it). Cook for 2 minutes or until tender. 
3. Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes. Bring mixture to the boil. 
4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until thick. 
5. Remove from heat. Cool completely.

Guacamole 

I got my Guacamole recipe from Gemma's (The Cheap Glut) scrumptious foodie blog

Ingredients

•  1 ripe avocado
• 1 TBSP good quality whole egg mayonnaise
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• freshly ground rock salt and black peppercorns
• 1 clove garlic, finely diced or crushed
•  use chilli flakes if you wish

Method

1. Scoop out the avocado flesh into a bowl
2. Add the mayonnaise, chilli (if using), garlic and lime and mash to combine.
3. Season well with salt and pepper.

Hamburger patties

I used lean beef patties from Woolworths. I like my meat medium rare so I didn't cook the patties for very long. The instructions say to cook the patties slowly, and they can be grilled, or fried. I prefer grilled patties, because I love the aesthetics of the grill marks and don't like the excess oil from frying. However, I couldn't find the plug for our grill. If you have a non-stick pan you can fry the patties without oil as they will release their own oil, which makes it easier to flip them. 

1. Before frying the patties though press them down using a spatula to get your desired thickness. 
2. Fry the patties until they're no longer pink and they start developing a golden brown colour. 
3. Before I put the meat on I spread a generous amount of salsa on to the wrap.
4. Then, place the patties on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil, before slicing and placing the pieces on the wrap. 
5. On top of the meat place a lovely dollop of the guacamole.
6. Then roll up the wrap and ay carumba! Mexican hamburgers :)

By candlelight I dined on my dish to the smooth sounds of, Louis Armstrong's 'La vie en Rose'. The rich, spicy, sweet salsa, creamy, citrusy guacamole, tender beef pieces and flaky wrap brought truth to the notion of comfort food. Needless to say I'm glad I was dining alone because I certainly made a mess of myself with a lot of the filling ending up smeared across my face and fingers. Now that's what I call a hot date :)