Hello, and welcome to Oatmeal and Ice Cream, where we take leftover food and ingredients and make strange, but delicious, new meals! However, you can’t use leftovers if you don’t have any left over food to begin with! So here’s a little recipe to start us off. 

The idea behind this one is that Oatmeal and I were eating a dinner which consisted of chicken burgers topped with rice, pesto sauce, and a lightly fried egg. As I was eating, I asked myself: “Could I cook the rice inside the patty without it getting mushy?” This recipe is an experiment to answer that question! What results is a delicious burger with a consistency you wouldn’t normally expect.

Now, Oatmeal tells me that I need to describe how the burgers taste so that you guys can make sure that you got the recipe right. Look, if the end-result tastes good, who cares if it’s the same result I got?! But here’s my description, just in case you’d like a guide.

The meat of the burger should be soft and tender, but the farro is cooked al dente, so when you bite into it, there should be a nice chew to it. As for taste, the onion and garlic will sing out from the burger itself, while the mustard adds a very nice sweet/tangy flavor. The tomato will add a refreshing, sweet burst at the top. Overall, the dish is slightly sweet, tangy, and flavorful, with a satisfying chew.  It should not taste burnt or caramelized (unless you like that sort of thing! In which case, instead of searing the burger, I would sautée it in olive oil at a high heat for 3-5 minutes per side instead of 1-2 minutes without oil.) If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comments!

And remember, save some of the leftovers so you can use them in another meal!

Mustard Chicken Burgers with Farro

• 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (or pressed)
• 1 cup uncooked farro, washed (If you’d like, you can substitute with rice or other similar grain)
• 1 egg
• 2-2.5 lbs ground chicken (You can substitute with turkey or other white meat).
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dijon mustard
• Two tomatoes, cut into thick slices

Preheat the oven to 225°F

In a large bowl, mix together the chopped onions, garlic, farro, egg, chicken, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. (I didn’t add any salt or pepper, so add these at your own discretion.) Divide the mixture into eight, thick patties, and set aside on a strip of parchment paper (or on anything, really. Just something to get them out of the way without creating more dishes to clean later). Place a non-stick skillet over a medium-high flame, and let it heat up until drops of water sizzle on contact. Once the skillet is hot, place the patties in the skillet and sear them for 1-2 minutes. Then flip and sear them on the other side for another 1-2 minutes, before moving them to a baking dish.

Once all of the patties have been seared and placed in the baking dish, spread a layer of mustard on top of each of the patties. (Make note: The mustard is really the star of this dish, so don’t skimp on it! You can definitely use way more than what is shown in the accompanying pictures.) Put a slice of tomato on top of each patty.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake it in the oven for 30 minutes at 225°F, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the mustard is just starting to brown. (I put them on the bottom shelf of my oven, but you’ll have to adjust for your own oven’s quirks.)

Once the burgers have been cooked to your liking, take them out of the oven and remove the aluminum foil. They are now ready to eat! You can eat them on their own, with a side of vegetables, or you can put them in a bun and eat it like a regular hamburger. We enjoyed them with an extra dollop of the mustard. Be sure to keep experimenting!