This recipe is from the Air Canada in-flight magazine in Novemeber 2006. It is an exercise in gilding the lily. Any two of wild mushrooms, cognac, stilton, foie gras, truffles, and fancy herby salad would be a good addition to a hamburger; all of the above is just plain ridiculous.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 T butter
2 handfuls wild mushrooms (shiitake, morel, chanterelle), sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1 T fresh thyme, stemmed
1 1/2 oz cognac
3 oz foie gras, divided into 4 pieces
2 lb hamburger
4 oz Stilton, crumbled
4 buns
4 T mayonnaise
1 handful baby herb salad/chervil/arugula
1 truffle or 1 oz truffle oil

Melt butter. Sauté mushrooms and thyme for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add cognac, warm for 5 s, then flambé. After flames burn out, remove and reserve.
In a separate pan, sear one side of one piece of foie gras for 5 s, then flip and sear the other side; remove and reserve; repeat for other pieces.
Season hamburger with salt and pepper. Divide into 4 8-oz mounds, each with an indentation in the centre. Place a piece of foie gras in the centre, forming a patty around it.
Grill patties, crumbling stilton on each burger as it finishes.
Spread buns with mayonnaise on the bottom and greens on top. Add burger. Garnish with mushrooms. Shave truffle over burger or drizzle with truffle oil.

Labels: Main course, Rachel

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