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A spice-laden burger gets topped with a green tomato chutney and a helping of pure Canadian comfort food (a.k.a. poutine).

Ingredients

For the Ketchup Vert - Green Tomato Chutney:
  • 10-12 large green tomatoes, chopped
  • 4 white onions or red onions, chopped
  • ¼ cup salt
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • ¾ cup white vinegar
  • ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¾ cup white sugar
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • 2 green apples, peeled and finely chopped, or ¼ white cabbage, finely chopped
For the Pickling Spice:
  • Cheesecloth
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorn
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed
  • 1 tablespoon celery seed
  • 1 teaspoon whole allspice
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 piece cinnamon stick, 3 inches
  • 3 large fresh bay leaves
For the Poutine:
  • 1 bag frozen steak fries
  • 1 ½ cups cheese curd or wide-tooth shredded white sharp cheddar or crumbled white sharp cheddar, to serve
  • 2 tablespoons thyme, chopped, to serve
For the Gravy:
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 ½ cups beef stock
  • ¾ cup chicken stock
  • 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
For the Canadian Spiced Burgers:
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced, or 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 inch fresh ginger root, grated, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground sage, ⅓ palmful
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • About ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • About ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
  • Chopped cornichon or sliced pickles
  • Lettuce, gem romaine or leaf
  • 4 brioche burger rolls, split, toasted and brushed with melted butter

Yield

Serves: 4

Preparation

For the green ketchup, layer chopped tomatoes and onions and salt in large bowl and chill overnight.  Drain tomatoes and onions and add to pot with water, vinegars and sugars, apple or cabbage. Prepare pickling spice, tie the cheesecloth and anchor to pot handle.  Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to simmer and cook 45-65 minutes. Store ketchup in Mason jars and store in fridge up to 1 month.

For the poutine, preheat oven to 450˚F.  Place parchment on baking sheet and arrange fries in an even layer. Bake to crisp, 25-30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, combine cornstarch and water in small bowl or ramekin. Heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat, add butter and when it foams, whisk in flour, add stocks, cornstarch mixture and pepper and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer to thicken.

To serve the poutine, turn off oven and add cheese curds, let stand 5 minutes, transfer to platter and top with gravy and thyme.

For the burgers, combine beef and pork with salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, ginger, sage, dry mustard, allspice, cayenne, nutmeg and olive or vegetable oil. Form 4 large patties thinner at the center for even cooking.   

Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, cook patties about 8 minutes, turning occasionally.

Serve burgers with chopped cornichon or pickles and lettuce on brioche rolls topped with green ketchup.