Burgers with Cucumber-Celery Slaw and Havarti

Every week, Caroline Wright creates simple, civilized recipes for Food52 that feed four -- for under $20, in under 20 minutes.

Today: A crispy, pickled slaw makes an otherwise simple cheeseburger into bistro-worthy fare.

I've become a bit of a jaded burger cook, and, as a burger eater, my tastes have become as simple as it gets, since almost nothing seems to impress me. For this recipe, I wanted to find a way to add fresh flavor to a burger in a way I hadn’t tried before -- and so, this particular slaw was born.

I love to use the tiniest leaves from the inner core of celery stocks for their aromatic and grassy flavor; they're a secret ingredient most cooks discard. This slaw emerged from the heart of the celery, and from a few other staples from my refrigerator, too. Pickled and crisp, it ended up making this cheeseburger worthy of any bistro. I served it with a salad, though the stacked slaw gave this burger the bulk it needed to be a whole summer supper all by itself. 

Burgers with Cucumber-Celery Slaw and Havarti

Serves 4

3/4 cup sliced cucumber
Inner core of celery, both leaves and stalks, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup pepperoncini, sliced
1/4 cup parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Pinch of sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground beef sirloin
4 brioche hamburger buns, split
4 tablespoons softened butter
4 slices Havarti
Chips or salad for serving, if desired

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here. 

As a freelance food writer and cook, I first wrote this style of recipe as a column on my blog, The Wright Recipes, as an excuse to cook good food for my friends in a quick and simple way. 

Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute™ Meals grew into a cookbook that was published by Workman in May 2013. The recipes found here are original, made especially for Food52 to once again celebrate simple food with friends.

Photo by Caroline Wright