I love hamburgers, but I’ve never had much luck making them. I can never get the seasoning quite right so they end up tasting bland, which is why I was thrilled to find Susie Fishbein’s Moroccan hamburgers recipe in the Kosher by Design Short on Time book (page 148). The seasoning mixture is fun and spicy and always surprises my guests because they never expect the meat to have a slight kick.

But the best part of this burger for me is the mint mayonnaise spread that I liberally lather on the bottom bun. It gives the impression that I’m eating … yes I’m going to say it … a CHEESEBURGER! If I close my eyes while I’m eating the burger, I can almost imagine that I’m biting into a juicy burger covered with a thick slab of melty Swiss cheese. It’s that creamy, yummy delicious.

Another fun fact about this recipe is the sliced cucumbers and red onions soaked in apple cider vinegar. I once had a family over for Sukkot and served these burgers. Their 1 year old daughter could not get enough of the cucumber slices. It made me think that next time, I might just make a big bowl of those cucumbers for folks to munch on for fun.

If you haven’t made these burgers before, it’s definitely worth a try. They are simple to prepare and you might even add a bit of guacamole to spice things up even more. I haven’t tried that version but it seems like it might be a good addition.

Moroccan hamburgers (Kosher by Design Short on Time, Page 148)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef or ground lamb
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (I usually half this amount so the burger won’t be too spicy for kids)
• 2 pinches of crushed red pepper flakes (Same as above … just 1 pinch)
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ English (hothouse) cucumbers, thinly sliced
• ½ red onion, cut into thin slices
• 1 ½ tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
• ½ cup mayonnaise (I’ve also used light mayo and the spread was still yummy)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves (I have a mint plant on my back porch so it’s easy to just pick the leaves I need while cooking)
• 6 hamburger buns

Directions:

Mix the ground beef in a bowl with the oregano, ground coriander, salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Form into 6 patties.

Heat a grill pan or medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the patties and cook 5 minutes per side. Try not to move the burgers around so you will get nice grill marks and a good sear. Re-oil the pan as necessary if working in batches.

Place the thinly sliced cucumber and red onions into a medium bowl. Toss with the vinegar and allow to stand for a few minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the chopped mint into the mayonnaise. Set aside.

When you remove the burgers from the pan, place the buns, cut-side down, into the pan. This will toast them and at the same time they will pick up nice flavor.

Spread both sides of the toasted buns with the minted mayonnaise. Top each Moroccan burger with a few slices of the cucumber and red onion.

My hubbie even brought home a bag of frozen fries the night I was preparing these burgers. I was so excited until I realized the fries were dairy. That’s something I need to work on : )

Enjoy and Happy Kosher Treif Cooking!