Dinner Tonight: The Aussie Burger
The basic hamburger has many permutations, depending on condiments–from classics like bacon and cheese to crazier additions like a fried egg. The meat itself can be charred on a grill, or seared on a griddle; the bun can be crusty, soft like a potato roll, or nixed altogether. The patty can be thick or thin; the meat ground from sundry parts of the cow. But unless you're from Australia, you might never have heard of this one: sliced beets. My girlfriend came across this recipe while befriending Aussies in England.
Especially counterpoint to a crispy, griddled, well-salted patty, the sweet earthiness of a roasted beet works wonderfully. After reading about thin-patty cast iron burgers the other day, I was anxious to get home and make one, which is when I remembered I had some Chioggia beets waiting to be roasted. I skipped the traditional Aussie burger bacon for avocado, but kept the essential fried egg, which drips its yolk over everything like a sauce. This is a great burger twist to have in the repertoire as summer approaches.
It isn’t summer yet, but the sun has me thinking. Every June when the food magazines put out issues full of gorgeous grilled things, I, a grill-deprived citizen of New York City, feel somehow snubbed. The rest of the country, I imagine, is enjoying lingering al fresco dinners on decks and in gardens as I continue to eat inside at a corner of the table that also holds my computer and my work. Certain things I never get to eat at home at all—grilled fish, grilled pizza, grilled corn. 
