MOROCCAN-STYLE BURGERS (WITH SPICED KETCHUP)

Hello, dear reader. If you missed my last post, I recently made my kitchen a burger test kitchen. With lots of meat, spices, veggies, even fruits, and several Saturday hours, I created four very different burger recipes. I wanted to take an international theme, infusing burgers with tastes from around the world. After lots of recipe reading and brainstorming, I chose four main burgers: the Greek, the Moroccan, the American, and the Tex-Mex. (Yes, I ended up with an "American" burger... that probably shouldn't count toward my "international" adventure). 



Of the four, the Moroccan was definitely the farthest of out my comfort zone and the least conventional tasting, as burgers go. Cinnamon in beef? New to me. Moroccan cuisine is known for its use of many spices, and this burger has no shortage. Though I enjoyed trying to savor each of the flavors, I thought the many spices were slightly overwhelming. My two taste-testers didn't seem to like that they were "sweet" (I think they were tasting the cinnamon), but if you like sweet meat, it's pretty tasty.



For something different, you could make a spiced mayo instead of ketchup. Or if your taste is spicy hot, you could be more generous with the paprika and balance it out by topping the burgers with sliced cucumber. Since mint is commonly used in Moroccan dishes, you could also incorporate fresh mint leaves into some kind of topping - maybe mint-spice mayo/sauce?

Let me know what you think!

Moroccan-Style Burgers with Spiced Ketchup

Makes 4 sliders (or 2 regular-sized burgers).


1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon coriander
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 recipe spiced ketchup (below)
hamburger buns for serving

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and knead mixture with hands until well combined. Cover mixture and allow to sit at least 30 minutes. Form 4 equal patties. Heat a large skillet to medium heat and cook patties until cooked through.

Spiced Ketchup

1/4 cup ketchup
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Stir all ingredients together until well combined.