Description: No bun but still an enjoyable mini burger. This can also be for canapés or kids menu.
Serves: 8 pieces
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• Courgette – chopped in about 6 mm thick, 200g (I had 16 slices to make 8 pieces of sandwiches)
• Beef mince meat (5%) – 160g
• Onion – chopped, ½ piece or 75g
• Garlic – chopped in small pieces, 2 cloves
• Soy sauce – ⅔ tablespoon
• Ground black Pepper – 2 dashes
• Sesame oil (optional) – 1 teaspoon
• Sunflower oil – 1 tablespoon
• Monterey Jack cheese – cut into 4 pieces, 2 slices

Method

1. In a large bowl, add the minced meat, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil (optional) and black pepper. Mix them well until it becomes smooth. 
2. Shape the meat mixture into round balls or into a flat elliptic shape.
3. Meanwhile, cook the courgette with sunflower oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat, turning them occasionally. Once cooked, put them aside.
4. Fry these mini meat steaks in a large non-stick pan over medium heat, turning them occasionally and place the lid while cooking.
5. When the meat is almost cooked, stop the heat, and place cheese on top of the meat. Leave it for a few minutes.
6. Sandwich the meat with the courgette slices and place toothpicks.

Nutritional Values Per Serving (2 pieces)

Kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs	Fibre	Sugars	Salt	Saturated Fat	Vitamin B12
157.8	13.1g	9.9g	4.1g	0.9g	2.1g	0.7g	3.8g	1.0μg
7.9%	26.2%	14.2%	1.6%	2.9%	2.4%	10.9%	19.2%	67.5%

Nutritional Tips

Courgette is also known as zucchini and it is summer squash. Courgette is an amazing vegetable, it is suitable for weight loss, and diabetic meals as it contains low carbs, is rich in folate, is a good source of fibre (contains both soluble and insoluble), and contains almost no fat, sugar or salt. It is super low in calories, less than mushrooms for the same weight: 1 piece of courgette (200g) is only 34 kcal (according to USDA).

They are commonly dark or light green, but you may also see yellow ones. It’s versatile: it can be added to pasta, risotto and burgers, stuffed, rolled or used in ajillo, kushikatsu (Japanese deep fry skewer) and tempura. I will introduce more recipes another time.