A burger with the bun and the cheese reinvented, not removed

Roasted portobello caps stand in for the bun in this burger, and a spoonful of guacamole tucked inside the patty does the rich, creamy work that cheese used to do. This is a real burger, not a smaller version of the original.

The patty itself is dense with what a healing body needs. Beef is a strong source of iron and zinc, which support healthy red blood cells and immune function, and it supplies vitamin B12, involved in energy and nerve health. The avocado in the guacamole brings monounsaturated fats and folate, involved in cell repair, and those fats also help the body absorb the fat soluble nutrients in the meal. 2 whole foods, no fillers, no flour.

Cook with a little reverence for the animal that fed you, and source the beef as well as your budget allows. Then sit down and eat it with your hands, the way a burger is meant to be eaten. That kind of plain pleasure at the table is part of the medicine.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil, mixed into the patties
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, for the mushrooms
• 1 tsp sea salt, for the patties (omit any black pepper)
• 1/8 tsp sea salt, for the mushrooms
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 of a batch of guacamole (your AIP guacamole, no pepper or other nightshades)
• 4 large portobello mushrooms, de-stemmed and gilled
• 2 leaves lettuce

Swaps made: omitted the black pepper the source method mentions, as it is excluded on AIP. Make sure the guacamole is nightshade-free, with no peppers, tomato, or chili. All other ingredients are AIP Core compliant as written.

Method

• Mix the ground beef with 1 Tbsp coconut oil, the salt, and the garlic powder. Form four thin patties and press a shallow well into the center of each.
• Spoon guacamole into the wells of two patties, then cap each with a second patty and pinch the edges to seal the filling inside.
• Scrape the gills from the portobello caps, then brush them with the 2 Tbsp coconut oil and sprinkle with the 1/8 tsp salt.
• Bake the patties and the mushroom caps at 400F, about 10 minutes per side, until the beef is cooked through and the mushrooms are tender.
• Stack each stuffed patty between two roasted caps with a lettuce leaf and serve.

Air fryer variation

Lay the seasoned mushroom caps and the stuffed patties in the air fryer basket without crowding. Cook at 380F, turning once, until the patties are cooked through and the mushrooms are tender, roughly 12 to 15 minutes total depending on thickness. (Air fryer timing is an adaptation estimate, flagged for verify.) Work in batches if the basket is small so everything browns rather than steams.

*Adapted from a-clean-plate*