Squash Fritter Beef Sliders with Sriracha Mayo

One of the many benefits of Paleo eating is the motive to get creative with our tried and true recipes. 

Beef sliders on small brioche buns are one of our favorite treats. So we've had beef slider lettuce wraps several times since going over to our 80% Paleo lifestyle. But we were looking for a way to get a little creative with our sliders for a change. I came across this recipe for Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Sriracha Mayonnaise in a recent Sunset Magazine. 

And I started thinking if we used butternut squash in place of the spaghetti squash we could possibly use it as a bun for some beef sliders. And we just happened to have a butternut squash waiting to used. So we tweaked the recipe a bit but not too much. 

We pretty much followed the recipe for the fritters as directed with exception of swapping butternut for spaghetti squash. We cooked the split squash in the microwave as directed but it took much longer than stated. But overall it worked fairly slick. We scrapped the soft squash out and mixed it with the other ingredients.

We essentially made open face beef sliders, with some romaine, sliced tomato and avocado on top of the squash fritter, served with the Sriracha mayo. Don't skip the Sriracha mayo it definitely was the icing on the cake.

This was a nice change up from our lettuce wrap sliders of late. To be honest maybe a little more work than we will usually want to go through for a quick beef slider kind of night but if we have the time they are worth the work.

RECIPE:

Squash Fritter Beef Sliders with Sriracha Mayo

Squash Fritters

• 1 (2-pound) butternut squash
• 1 (8-ounce) package baby spinach
• 1/2 cup panko 
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large egg whites 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds; discard. Place squash halves, cut sides up, in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave at HIGH 20 minutes or until tender. Let stand 10 minutes. Scrape inside of squash with a fork to remove cooked squash flesh to measure 4 cups.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Place squash and spinach on a clean dish towel; squeeze until barely moist. Coarsely chop squash mixture, and place in a large bowl. Add panko and next 3 ingredients (through baking powder), and toss well to combine. Place egg whites in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into squash mixture.
• Fill a 1/4-cup dry measuring cup with squash mixture. Invert onto work surface; gently pat into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture, forming 10 patties total. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add 5 patties to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove patties from pan; keep warm. Repeat the procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and squash patties.
•  Beef Sliders
• 1 lb. grass fed ground beef
• 1/2 Tblspn. natural burger seasoning ( we used Weber's)
• Salt & Pepper
• 
  
• Mix seasoning with beef. Form 8 small slider sized burgers. Grill until medium-rare ( or cook as desired.
• Sriracha Mayo
• 5 teaspoons Paleo Mayo
• 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Mix together.
• 
  
• Stack burgers on top of squash fritters, garnish with lettuce, tomato slices, avocado and Sriracha mayo.

• 
  

Fajita Lettuce Wraps with Chipotle Aioli

The cuisine or cooking style we probably cook the most has to be Mexican inspired. Our fav chefs being Rick Bayless and Bobby Flay. And then there is the spicy quotient that we love as well. G's fav breakfast to make is his version of Huevos Rancheros whether made here in the PNW or in Mexico. There is just something about these flavors that make us very happy & satisfied.

Most of the components of Mexican food fit into our Paleo lifestyle with exception of tortillas and cheese of course. And this recipe was a perfect adaptation of our non-Paleo cooking style with our most loved flavors.

Flank steak rubbed with great spices and grilled medium-rare. Served with a chipotle aioli and caramelized veggies. Now the one unsatisfying part of this dish was how the juices dripped down your arm because the iceberg lettuce just couldn't contain them. Yeah, that's an issue. Next time we will use romaine instead or just serve it all over greens and skip the whole wrap thing all together. 

But truly that's the only thing to complain about this recipe. This was by far the best meal we've had during our Whole 30 challenge and we're 14 days in. This will also become part of regular Paleo recipe rotation.

RECIPE:

Fajita Lettuce Wraps with Chipotle Aioli (adapted from the 30 Day Guide to Paleo Cooking)

1/2 Tblspn chipotle powder

1 Tblspn smoked paprika

1 Tblspn onion powder

1 Tblspn garlic powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 Tblspns ghee (clarified butter)

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 cup white mushrooms, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

1/2 lb. flank steak

Chipotle Aioli

1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise

1 chipotle with adobo sauce, minced

1 head iceberg lettuce

1 avocado

1. In small bowl combine dry spices, salt & pepper

2. Melt ghee in large skillet over medium-high heat. 

3. Add the red pepper, mushrooms, and onions to the skillet and saute' seasoning liberally with the spice mixture.

4. When the veggies are soft.

5. Season with flank steak with spices. Heat grill, cook flank steak to medium-rare.

6. Let steak rest. When rested slice thinly.

7. Mix mayo with chipotle. 

8. Place the steak and vegetables in a lettuce cup, and top with avocado and chipotle aioli.