When I picture a summer dinner, the first thing that comes to my mind is a cheeseburger. And fries, of course. It has all the perfect summer meal components: grilling, quick, sharable. It all starts with crunchy lettuce, seasoned ground meat (or a veggie burger patty), tomatoes, pickles, onions, fries, and pickle vinaigrette.
Have you ever seen the option to order a burger on a bed of lettuce? I have, and it makes me kinda sad that it’s just the patty on some lettuce. But this salad is the perfect alternative for people that can’t or don’t want to have their burger on a bun. The star of the meal? It’s not the meat, but the vinaigrette dressing! The pickle dressing adds a great vinegary fresh taste to the salad. Don’t limit it to just this salad. I had leftover dressing and I used it for the rest of the week. According to the experts (also known as Food & Wine), the perfect vinaigrette is comprised of three-parts oil to one-part acid. In this case, the usual acid of vinegar is replaced by pickle juice. See, once there’s a bit of explanation behind the vinaigrette it doesn’t sound as strange!
To all the vegetarians out there…I’d imagine this salad would work well with a veggie burger too! Especially a spicy black bean burger. Yummm. And it you’re vegan, just omit the cheese.
I love oven baking my fries. I really don’t think I’ve ever tried to fry fries. It’s too time consuming and messy for my liking. The oven is much easier – set the timer and walk away! The key to getting golden crispy fries? Before cooking, boil the raw fries in boiling water for 5 minutes. Seriously, it works! Oh, and believe it or not, yes there really is lettuce under all those delicious toppings!
Burger & Fries Toss Salad
https://northcoasteats.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/burger.bowl-0027.jpg
| Yield: serves 4 people |
The best parts of a burger on crunchy lettuce. Ground meat, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and FRIES! Tossed with a dill vinaigrette.
You'll Need...
- SALAD:
- 8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/3 cup pickles, cut in matchsticks
- 1/4 cup shallot, diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- FRIES:
- 4 russet or sweet potatoes, thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon finely grated romano cheese
- salt & pepper, to taste
- DRESSING:
- 1/4 cup dill pickles, minced
- 3 tablespoons pickle juice
- 2 tablespoons shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill
Directions
- Prep the Fries: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When rapidly boiling, add cut potatoes. Cook 5 minutes, immediately remove from heat and drain. Place potatoes and all seasonings on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cook 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Cook the ground beef: Place raw ground beef in a large saute pan. Add 1 clove garlic, salt, pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into small chunks. Remove from heat when minimal or no pink remains.
- Make the Dressing: Whisk all ingredients together.
- Assemble the salads: Among 4 bowls, evenly divide lettuce, cooked ground beef, tomatoes, pickles, shallots, dill, and fries. Toss with desired amount of dressing.
Additional Notes
images and text © North Coast Eats
adapted from How Sweet Eats
Looks awesome…as usual! When you boil the potatoes do you boil them whole, or do you cut them up into fry form first? I’ve been wondering how to get my oven potatoes crispier. I’m excited to try this!
Thanks Rob, great question! You’ll want to cut them before boiling.