As with all brilliant ideas, the burger's timeless appeal lies in its simplicity. A well-made burger can transcend the sum of its parts to become truly sublime. Now Paul Gayler, Executive Chef at the Laneborough Hotel, has turned it into a gourmet treat, making the burger as appropriate for a refined dinner party as a low-key barbecue. With its roots buried deep in northern Europe, and its iconic status assured for over a century as America's staple convenience food, the burger enjoying a healthy revival -thanks to its mainstay of a few quality ingredients, cooked quickly and served up as fresh as can be. A succulent homemade burger makes the perfect meal -nutritious, filling and portable, it combines a host of sweet, salty and sour flavours which, together, tantalise the taste buds. In Burgers, Paul Gayler presents a wealth of delicious and imaginative recipes.
Divided into Classic Beef (think Roquefort, guacamole and barbecue sauce accompaniments), More Meat (Tandori lamb, Souvlaki and Caribbean pork varieties), Fish (Miso-basted salmon, Piri-piri tuna and Asian crab burgers), and even Vegetarian (Pumpkin couscous, Walnut, courgette and millet, and Turkistan chickpea) there really is a burger for everyone. The final chapter of the book is devoted to accompaniments with great ideas for salsas, relishes and dips as well as the different styles of breads that can be substituted for the classic sesame-seeded bun. Sweeping away the enduring perception of burgers as merely a fast food staple, Paul Gayler's excellent book, full of mouthwatering full-colour photos, truly allows you to bring gourmet cooking into your own kitchen.