I know what you're thinking. "hamburger... salad?" Even though it was my idea to try this, I was feeling a little skeptical. But it turned out to be really, really good, and the flavors worked together amazingly well.
Dressing
makes about a 1/2 cup
2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I doubled the recipe and thus, doubled the red pepper, and it was way too much, but we're wimps.)
Mix in a bowl or a jar until the sugar disolves. Set aside.
Burgers
1 pound ground beef (the advises ground top sirloin. We used our normal local ground beef and it was tasty, as is normal. Use whatever you'd normally use for burgers, though, of course, they're going to be as good as the beef is.)
2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper (we used black, because that's what we had on hand. tasted great.)
1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley (I think basil would also be splendid. Or cilantro.)
Mix everything together. Form patties. Grill, if you want (we used the Foreman. I love my Foreman. I'm sure that they would have been even better on the outdoor grill, but the Foreman is so dead easy) or cook in a pan or broil. Cook until done. Allow to cool until just cool enough to handle, and break into bite sized chunks. Serve over salad greens and vegetables of choice (they advise cherry tomoatoes, radishes, celery, romaine, and mint leaves. We did lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, carrots.)
This was delicious. The beef and the sweet and sour of the dressing went nicely together. We have another winner. :)