Hear us well… someone has just turned Malta’s most homely Sunday dish into a glorious burger! We had to refrain from releasing this feature on Easter Sunday, as most would have thought this was yet another feeble April Fool. It’s not, and it’s happening right now at Just Burger in Sliema.
Imqarrun (baked macaroni casserole) is one of Malta’s most loved traditional dishes. Just like Pastizzi, Twistees and Kinnie, it was not laboured in Malta, but it’s one of those acquired-and-rebranded foods… but don’t tell that to the Maltese! There’s one thing that Maltese love more than politics and soccer, and that’s their national food. Maltese are very passionate about their food, and Imqarrun is a Big thing; we’re dealing with a National-level Big thing here!
So, why would anyone make a burger version of Imqarrun? Because we’re too patriotic not to! Truth be said, we suspect that Just Burger wanted to infuse a burger with the classic mac & cheese flavour, and ended up creating a Patriot Burger! We’ve seen different attempts at doing a mac & cheese burger over the years; some worked to some extent, whilst others failed miserably. We still have nightmares over one burger with a mountain of macaroni and a flood of melted cheese poured all over, as if mount Etna had just erupted a magnitude of yellow pasta!
Even though there are different versions of Imqarrun, and each chef has his own secrets when baking this, this burger has most of the elements of grandma’s classic; the macaroni, bolognese sauce, meat and bacon. The macaroni is usually topped with a layer of grated cheese that when melted helps to bind everything in one block, and that is here too. Between the burger buns, there’s a layer of crunchy rucola, a chutney made from cherry tomato pulp & pancetta, a 140gr beef patty, provolone cheese, and a mac & cheese croquette. The chutney used here is a strong talking point in this burger. It’s perfectly reduced and packs a punch with its chunky pieces of tomatoes and rustic flavours. Pancetta makes a wiser substitute for bacon, as it does not have the deep smokey flavour and does not overpower the other ingredients. On the other hand, Provolone, like other pulled-curd cheeses, has a more intense flavour when melted and is often used in casseroles especially in dishes from the North of Italy. This cheese has a certain level of strength that shines through in its salt content, milkiness, and compact paste. The patty is very present as it brings in an instant hit of beef. You can always tell that this is quality beef as it has that delightful and intense flavour. It blends perfectly with the cheese, which sits on top melty and looking cheesy! The mac & cheese is presented in croquette form and is executed with a certain level of French finesse. This is where this burger becomes inimitable. It had to be the culinary team at Just Burger to come up with an exceptional solution for putting macaroni inside a burger without a cheesy mess and unnecessary spills, by encapsulating the baked pasta within a croquette which is exquisitely deep fried to a sterling level of golden crunchiness.
This burger does not only look suitably immaculate but has a meaningful taste that you don’t need to be a proud Maltese to polish it all in one go! It’s pretty safe to say that Just Burger always succeed in meeting the main objectives in comfort burger making: taste, price and originality. Even though this is a burger with mac and cheese for the rest of the world, it has a more celebrated culinary meaning in Malta. It’s one of those burgers that you might consider eating once a week during April… or even more! We’re now waiting for the Timpana and Ross il-forn burgers!
