Pierre’s French burger

Pierre’s French burger

Originally uploaded by dynamist.

When I saw this French burger on the blog of domestic maven Martha Stewart, I had to try it. It’s a recipe from her chef Pierre, and it looked so good that I jumped up from my seat and made my first go at it then and there.

This is the result – yes, there’s a burger under all that. It was wonderful, and I ended up making a huge batch of them for friends two nights later.

I omitted the baguette, and indeed used no bread at all, as well as the rösti. (Is it just me, or does it seem like a rösti plopped on top of a burger would be too distracting?) I also omitted the carrot and celery from the meat mix, but did use plenty of fried onions. When it came time to fry the onions to go on top of the burger, I substituted raspberry balsamic vinegar for the red wine. And I couldn’t resist slicing up an avocado and a garlic dill gherkin to go alongside; indeed, I’m surprised Pierre didn’t include cornichons with his French burger.

I don’t think I’ll ever make a burger again without incorporating the Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard into the mix, not to mention all those glorious fried onions. My friends loved the results, too, so don’t just take my word for it.