So at the beginning of the year, a friend informed me of her daughter’s birthday and we started looking for themes. As one who cooks, I decided on a theme close to my heart… “A day as a chef”…it would involve each child cooking in the kitchen with me. But what would we be cooking? certainly not jollof rice lol :). “What did I get myself into with my friend?” I asked myself. Anyway, last night I was lying in bed thinking of rice, stew and dodo(plantain in Nigerian vanacular) and mini burgers for my ajebutters and Eureka! Plantain and burger sliders(I was not to sure of the name :)). My ajebutters loved it. And when I asked my ajebutter 1 what she thought of the combinations she was elated and was so willing to share her exciting output. “I approve!” she said…and when I asked her about combining the spicy yam fried with the sweet chili sauce, she said “you get a burst of spicy and sweet in your mouth and it is amazing!” I used ground meat for some and black bean for the vegan and vegetarian patties. I am so glad to share this with you guys and  I won’t waste too much time talking. Let us just get right to it

meat patty

bean patty

Plantain burger sliders

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Nma

Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner

Cuisine: Nigerian Gourmet

Serves: 3

Ingredients

for plantain:

• one unripe to medium ripe plantain(it has to be fairly green
• ¼ cup oil for frying
• salt

for the burger patty

• ⅓ cup of ground meat(any type...I use chicken)
• salt to taste
• black pepper
• ½-1tbsp of bread crumbs
• ⅛ spoon red chili powder

for the black bean patty

• ⅓ cup of black beans(I used some from the can)
• salt to taste
• ⅛ tsp of black pepper
• 1 tbsp of bread crumbs
• one finely chopped chili pepper(I used a mild one or you may remove the seeds to reduce the heat)
• 1 tsp of chopped onion
• ½-1tsp of olive oil
• one small clove of garlic(chopped. optional)
• ⅛ tsp of ginger(optional)
• 1tbsp barbecue sauce(any savory flavor)
• 1tbsp of cheese(I used taco cheese)

for spicy yam fries

• 4inches of one yam
• 1tsp of chili pepper powder
• salt

other particulars

• one plum tomato(thinly sliced)
• one small onion(sliced)
• one small avocado(sliced)

Instructions

for the yam.

1. Peel and cut it into medium to large shoe string shapes. Put the pieces into some salted cold water and let it sit in the refrigerator(soaking the yam in salted water before cooking helps to remove excess starch; there by preventing the yam from sticking together. It also helps the yam to be crispy after cooking) while the yam soaks, you may do your other prep work and cooking

for the plantain.

1. wash and cut into one inch cylinders
2. heat up some oil in a shallow frying pan and slightly fry each side until moderately brown. remove from the oil and using a flat spatula, gently press down on each plantain until flat then put back into hot oil and fry each side until golden brown(At this point, you may finish the cooking off in the oven at 350 degrees to reduce the oil content). When the plantain is done, remove from the heat, place on a paper towel to drain any excess oil and sprinkle on some salt. Cover and set aside.

for the burgers

1. season burgers simply with salt, pepper, and red chili powder just for a little kick. Sprinkle on some bread crumbs and roll into little balls; then with your fore finger, press down the middle of the burger to form a little well. Place the raw burgers into the refrigerator to sit and rest (this helps the burger cook well)

for the bean patties

1. wash and drain a small can of beans. Measure out the amount you need and store the rest in the freezer or fridge
2. season with salt and cheese and set aside.
3. in a little sauce pan, heat up some oil. Throw in the onion and chopped chili pepper. Add some garlic and ginger if using any. Sauté until fragrant; then pour in your barbecue sauce and stir. remove the mix from the heat and pour it into the black bean. Mix with hands or a spatula and slightly mash the beans(some people put it in the food processor at this point, but I never do).

To cook burgers and bean patties

1. heat up a non stick griddle or spray it with some oil.
2. using your palms, flatten burger meat and grill each side. Since they are mini burgers, 2minutes on each side would suffice. Form bean into mini patties also, and grill for two minutes on each side as well while carefully keeping an eye on it so that it does not burn. While the patties are resting, heat up a pot of oil. When the oil is really hot, drain and throw in your yam. let it quickly fry and when it is done, remove from the oil and let it drain onto a paper towel. Season with salt and chili powder(You may cook your yam in the oven on 350 degrees to reduce it's oil content)

To form sandwiches

1. on one side of one cooked plantain put a tomato, your patties. Top with onions and avocado; then the other plantain. serve with some spicy yam fries with a side of sweet ketchup and sweet and spicy sauce. Mayonnaise works as a side condiment too

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