Burgers with Buckwheat and Fried Onions

Name: Burgers with Buckwheat and Fried Onions (Kotletki s Grechkoj i Lukom)
Cuisine: Russian
Ingredients: 1 potato; 1 onion; 300 g/11 oz minced (ground) beef; 300 g/11 oz minced (ground) pork; heaped 1.5 ml/¼ tsp ground black pepper; 75 g/3 oz/1½ cups fresh breadcrumbs; 25-40 g/1-1½ oz/2-3 tbsp butter; 30 ml/2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup smetana or crème fraîche and 4-8 small gherkins, to serve; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup smetana or crème fraîche and 4-8 small gherkins, to serve; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup smetana or crème fraîche and 4-8 small gherkins, to serve; 350 g/12 oz/1¾ cups whole buckwheat grains; 1 litre/1¾ pints/4 cups boiling water; 5 ml/1 tsp salt; 2 large onions; 45-60 ml/3-4 tbsp sunflower oil

Kotletki s Grechkoj i Lukom

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Recipes from My Russian Grandmother's Kitchen

By Elena Makhonko

Published 2015

About

Kotletki are Russia’s fast food. Russians love them and eat them for both lunch and dinner. Although they can be bought ready-made from the meat counter in the supermarkets, the best kotletki are home-made. Here they are served with buckwheat and fried onions. Buckwheat has a nutty taste and a slightly chewy texture.

Ingredients

1 potato
1 onion
300 g/11 oz

Method

To make the burgers, grate the potato and onion and put in a large bowl. Add the beef, pork, salt and pepper and mix well together until the mixture is smooth. Rinse a chopping board in cold water. Form the meat mixture into 10-12, equal-sized, 2cm/¾in thick burgers and place them on the chopping board. (Using a wet surface prevents the burgers from sticking.)

Energy 839kcal/3515kJ; Protein 38.9g; Carbohydrate 85.9g, of which sugars 9g; Fat 40.2g, of which saturates 12.9g; Cholesterol 108mg; Calcium 88mg; Fibre 2.9g; Sodium 1284mg.