Serve a simple green salad with hamburgers.
Salad is a light side dish that contrasts with the rich taste of hamburger sandwiches. Cold salads complement hamburgers in the heat of the summer grilling season, and you can prepare them in advance, leaving you more time to spend with friends and family. Salads can be much more interesting than lettuce simply dumped out of a bag; some mixtures are so tasty, they may take the spotlight off the hamburgers.
Green Salad
Pass up the bag of iceberg lettuce mixed with shredded carrots and mix your own light, nutritious green salad to serve with hamburger sandwiches. Purchase a head of red lettuce and a bundle of arugula. Wash and dry the leaves and tear them into bite-sized pieces. Mix lettuce, arugula, cherry tomatoes, chopped fresh or pickled banana peppers and crumbled goat cheese together in a large salad bowl with tongs. Pour olive oil and red wine vinegar into separate plastic squeeze bottles, or put out prepackaged salad dressings for your guests. Place croutons and sesame seeds into bowls and let guests serve themselves.
Potato Salad
Potato salad is a longtime picnic favorite frequently served with hamburgers. Place eight medium unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water and heat until the water boils. Reduce the heat to medium and cover; simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes; peel and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes when they have sufficiently cooled. Drain a 15-oz. can of peas and mix them with the potato cubes in a large mixing bowl. Stir in 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup milk, 1/4 tsp. pepper and 1 tsp. salt until well mixed. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is an endlessly customizable side dish to complement hamburgers. Choose a small, easy-to-eat pasta shape, such as farfalle, penne, fusilli or corkscrew macaroni. Cook 4 oz. of the pasta, according to package instructions. Pour the cooked pasta into a colander and rinse with cold water; place the pasta in a large mixing bowl. Combine 1/4 cup dry white wine, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 2 tbsp. lime or lemon juice, 1 tbsp. fresh basil, 1 tbsp. chopped green onion, 2 tsp. whole-grain mustard, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Pour the mixture over the pasta and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or as long as overnight. Stir in 3/4 cup quartered black olives and 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts before serving. Customize with vegetables such as halved cherry tomatoes, chopped bell peppers, diced onion and diced cucumber.
Coleslaw
Serve a tangy, vinegar-based coleslaw with hamburger sandwiches as an unexpected alternative to the more common mayonnaise-based slaw. Shred a head of cabbage using the shredding disc of a food processor, or purchase a bag of shredded cabbage. Using a kitchen scale, place 8 oz. shredded cabbage into a bowl. Refrigerate the rest of the shredded cabbage in a sealable storage bag for up to a week. Combine 1/8 cup red wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp. sugar; stir until the sugar dissolves. Stir in 1 tbsp. vegetable oil and 1/2 tsp. salt. Pour the vinegar mixture over the shredded cabbage and toss with two forks or your fingers to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine; toss again and serve.
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