WHO:            Justin Bell @ Jus Burgers
WINE:           2009 Vasse Felix Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
WHAT:          Pumpkin, Pesto and Goat Cheese burger

Jus Burgers came to life when Justin Bell and a chef friend, with whom he worked alongside in Hong Kong, caught up in London almost two years ago to discuss the beginnings of a gourmet burger restaurant.

Jus Burgers’ mission is to deliver the best burger bar in Western Australia, with integrity and honesty; whilst embracing locally sourced quality produce from suppliers that they have formed a mutually rewarding working relationship with.

Having lived and worked in Perth for 11 years now, Justin feels like he has a deep understanding and local knowledge as to who his suppliers should be and is very proud to be a leader in the ‘Buy West Eat Best’ campaign.

As Justin says, “Having lived in Dunsborough for nearly 3 years whilst opening Quay West Resort Bunker Bay, I enjoyed the produce from many of our gorgeous boutique wineries in the South West.  I was privileged to marry my savoury pumpkin, pesto and goats cheese burger with my favourite winery: ‘Vasse Felix’. I hope I can do the drop proud with this cheeky little number”.

Pumpkin, Pesto and Goat Cheese burger (serves 1)

130g butternut pumpkin
Handful of Iceberg lettuce
Handful of coal green lettuce
½ Spanish onion
½ tomato
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic oil
Quality sea salt
Tomato relish
25g goats cheese
1tsp Pesto
1 Turkish bun

For Crumbing
1 cup plain flour
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Handful of fine breadcrumbs
1 whisked egg with a dash of milk

Method
Peel and roast the pumpkin until cooked. Once cool, press into a 120mm pastry cutter and set aside.

Wash both lettuce leaves and stack together.  Slice tomatoes thinly, shave the Spanish onion and set aside until needed.

To construct the burger remove the pastry cutter from the pumpkin and press the goats cheese in the palm of your hand till almost same size of pumpkin & place on top.

Place this “vegetable burger” into the flour, egg then the crumbing mixture, shaking the excess off when fully coated. Place the crumbed burger into the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.  Note, these can be made up to 3 days in advance.

When you are ready to serve, cook the vegetable burger in a deep fryer at approx 180 degrees until light golden brown. Place on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.

Cut the Turkish bun in half and char grill on the outside only.  Place a good smear of extra virgin olive oil on the base of the bun, then the salad, vegetable burger and finally a small dollop of pesto.

Lightly smear tomato relish on the inside of the top bun and place on the burger

Lightly brush with garlic oil and sea salt before serving.