Eggplant Burgers with Caramelized Balsamic Onions

 One lonely eggplant was hanging out on my kitchen counter and I wanted to try something new.I saw this recipe on Eats Well With Others and knew it would be something we would really enjoy.

 Joanne has a recipe for poppy seeds rolls which she served with the burger. They look wonderful and the next time I make this recipe I'm going to try to make them.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant ( mine was about a pound)
Kosher salt
1 cup panko
1/4 cup parmesan ( grated fresh parm)
2 tablespoons minced parsley 
1 minced clove of garlic
freshly ground black pepper ( used organic jar black pepper to taste)
1 egg lightly beaten
marinara sauce
mozzarella

Directions:

Bring a medium size pot with salted water to a boil.

Take the skin off the eggplant and cut into cubes to about 1 inch. Toss the cubes in the boiling water. Leave uncovered and cook until the cubes are soft. They should be done in about 10-12 minutes.

Drain and allow to cool.

You want to get as much water out of the eggplant. I have a potato ricer which worked great. If you don't have a potato ricer leave the eggplant in the colander and press down to remove the excess water.

Once the extra water has been removed finely chop the eggplant. 

Add the eggplant to a medium size bowl and add the panko,cheese,parsley and garlic. Season to taste with the kosher salt and pepper. Add the egg ( which was beaten) and mix well.

Form the eggplant mixture into four patties. Add to a large frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. Melt the butter in the frying pan and add the olive oil.

Cook the burger on one side. You want it to be a light golden brown  ( takes about a minute or two) and do the same thing to the other side.

Once they are cooked place on a paper towel.

I placed them on a small pan and added the mozzarella. Placed the pan under the broiler until the cheese melted.

Remove the burger once the cheese melts and place on a roll. You can toast the roll or just take a roll out of a package. Did it both ways and it's delicious no matter which way you enjoy the burger.

When the burger is on the roll, add some marinara which has been heated.

Top with the  caramelized onions enjoy.


I added the Balsamic Caramelized Onions for one reason- I love them and I have so many onions I wanted to start using them before they started to sprout.

 Heads up on these.They take awhile to cook. If you are in a hurry- don't add the recipe. It takes over an hour before they are done. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 sweet onions- thinly sliced ( I used plain yellow onions)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper ( used few shakes from the organic jar of black pepper)
2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 -1/2 cup balsamic vinegar ( depends on how much you like balsamic you like)

Directions:

In a large saucepan heat the oil over medium to low heat.

Add half of the onions to the saucepan. Once the first half of the onions has cooked down add the rest of the onions. Add the salt and pepper.

When all of the onions are cooked down add the sugar and stir gently. Add the balsamic and continue to stir.

Reduce the heat to low and cook the onions slowly-stir once in awhile to make sure nothing sticks. You want a nice low steady heat on them for an hour.

The balsamic will cook into the onions and the taste is amazing.

Remove the onions from the pan and add to the burger.

Recipe - Balsamic Caramelized Onions