Just because the standard burger involves a bun full of gluten doesn’t mean you need to give up on burgers altogether. We promise that you will love our Chicken Pesto Burger and that it will soon become a household favourite, just like it has here for team TNN.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 300g free range chicken breast, cut lengthways
- 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 100g sweet potato
- 1 red capsicum, quartered
- 1 bunch asparagus, cut in half and sliced
- 40g rocket
- 1 avocado
- 20g goat’s cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, roughly chopped
- Sea salt & pepper, to taste
Kale & Basil Pesto:
- 1 cup kale, leaves removed from the stem
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2/3 cup pinenuts
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic infused extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Sea salt & pepper, to taste
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with paper.
- To make the pesto, add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blitz until desired consistency. Add additional lemon juice if required.
- In a shallow bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of pesto with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and add chicken. Toss to combine and set aside for 30 minutes to marinate. Store leftover pesto in an airtight glass container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
- Slice sweet potato into 3cm thick slices and place on the baking tray. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of oil and season well. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden.
- In another bowl, combine remaining oil with capsicum and asparagus.
- Heat a BBQ grill or frypan on a medium high heat and add capsicum and asparagus. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until tender and golden. Remove from the grill.
- Add marinated chicken and grill for 3 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Allow to rest.
- Place avocado and goat’s cheese in a small bowl and roughly mash together. Season well.
- To serve, lay sweet potato on the bottom of each plate. Top with rocket, char-grilled capsicum and asparagus. Add chicken and top with mashed avocado, dill and season further if necessary.
Recipe developed with the assistance of Melinda Benstead, TNN Recipe Developer & Expert LCHF Baker. Learn more in Meet Min here.
Image by Sarah Craven Photography.