Friday, September 26, 2014

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







59 comments:

  1. OMG......this looks so must sink my teeth in right now. The onions are making my mouth water. Caramelized onions are the best. This recipe is a must share. I just know it will be a big hit. Must go make some onions for me.

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  2. Oh how I wish I could take a liking to eggplant........me........the Italian who should LOVE Eggplant Parmesan...nope. I substitute zucchini when there's eggplant in a recipe. That burger looks amazing though Linda. Did both you and Gabe have them or was this yours when he was loving that pasta? :)

    Now caramelized onions? We LOVE LOVE LOVE those. I've never made them with balsamic vinegar....that's a must try-and you're right.....they do take a long time.

    Have you ever tried them in the crock pot? I've been tempted.............

    Hi Myra! :)

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    1. Oh, how you know me! Gabe did have a bite but he was in hog heaven with the pasta. We both ate what we liked.

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  3. You can't go wrong with eggplant in my book, and I love the caramelized onions with it. Sounds like a perfect vegetarian dinner. I'm intrigued by the name of your blog- we live in Pa and go to South Florida for the winter ..

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    1. It's nice to get out of the cold- especially the snow!

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Linda

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  4. Hi Carol......My husband was Italian, so I learned to make lots of Italian foods. I don't eat them all, but I would make them. I even made TRIPE....ugh, amazing my kids even ate it. Not me I only eat it if I know what it is. Tho I did know what Tripe was, it wasn't getting near my mouth. I even made spaghetti and crabs, tho I wouldn't eat crabs...I know I know who doesn't eat crabs? I made eggplant parm lots of times for the family, but for me I ate chicken parm. Anyway, I think this picture of the eggplant is beautiful, and it does look good enough to eat, but I wouldn't eat it. I do LOVE Caramelized onions tho.......I could eat them as a meal. Never tried them in the crockpot.....wow an idea for my meal !!! :-)

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    1. Hi Myra....I grew up in an Italian household....my Nana came "right off the boat" and talked broken English...my Mom is 100% Italian. Nana lived with us and made some of the most AMAZING things-without recipes of COURSE so I can never duplicate them. Even my Mom kicks herself for not watching her mother more closely when she made some of her delicious dishes. They went with her when she passed away.

      Tripe............ohhhhhhhhhhhhh boy.......NOOOOOOOOOOOOO THANKS! We ate a lot of "plain" Italian food.....polenta, spaghetti and meatballs, gnocchi, risotto (Nana's was more like a soup than a rice side dish)...never eggplant or anything like Chicken Parmesan. No ravioli.....I had those later in life. I have to say though-whatever she made was devoured-she was one fantastic cook that could make a tummy pleasing meal out of the simplest foods.

      I'm with you on the caramelized onions..........YUM! I might learn to like eggplant the way Linda made it.....maybe I'll get daring one of these days and give it a try-I know Bob would like it......even if it didn't have the bread. :)

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  5. This looks so good. I will sure try it..

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    1. Dottie- you don't need the roll. They are really good and know you will like them.

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  6. Oh this looks yummy. I get tired of eating meat, sometimes it just doesn't appeal to me and I want just veggies. This looks amazing

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    1. I would like to get away from red meat. We use to buy our red meat from a local farmer and now it's grocery store meat which I'm not fond of.

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  7. Popping in from Say G'day to check out your fabulous recipe. I would be honored if you would come by and share your recipe at Foodie Friday's too! It looks amazing. Hope to see you there.
    Blessings,
    Shari
    http://puregracefarms.com/2014/09/foodie-fridays-time-to-play/

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Shari- going over to the party asap! Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Replies
    1. Hope you like it as much as I did! Thanks for stopping by.

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  9. Wow it's look so good and I know it taste good, would love to try it one day:)

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  10. This looks absolutely amazing!! I am seriously drooling and can't wait to try!

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    Replies
    1. It's so good and hope you enjoy it also.

      Thanks so much for stopping by.

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  11. This sounds delicious! Definitely pinning this for later!

    Found you on Bloggers Brags. Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the pin! I'm on Bloggers Brag every week.

      Appreciate you stopping by.

      Delete
  12. Love love love eggplant! This would make an excellent lunch for me, thank you!

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  13. This looks tasty!

    Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!

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  14. This looks amazing. I've already shared this with a couple of friends who agree. I have to make this. (Maybe with a little bacon?) Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend.

    Linda

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    Replies
    1. Bacon! YUM :-) Have to try it next time.

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  15. Delicious! Thank you for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.

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    1. I gave my friend you address this morning- now she's hooked also!

      Thanks so much for hosting.

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  16. Oh my goodness, this recipe for Eggplant Burgers with Caramelized Balsamic Onions looks mouthwatering. I can't wait to try your recipe. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  17. Hi,
    Thank you for sharing your Superdelicious recipe and Fabulous photos! I will be so pleased if you join us on www(dot)myTaste(dot)com
    See you! Cheers!
    Immanuel

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  18. The balsamic sweet onions is what got me to click on this one! I'm not one for eating eggplant but this burger makes me want to give it another try. Thanks for sharing this amazing looking burger with us at the Creative Style Linkup!

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    1. I have so many onions I wanted to use before we leave and when I was making the burger I thought-why not use up some of the onions?
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  19. You are one marvelous cook! That looks excellent! I will be saving this recipe too since we eat a lot of vegetarian meals! :) Thanks for sharing on the Art of Home-Making Mondays!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you JES :-) I like to eat and love making new recipes.

      Linda

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  20. I saw your link on Enchanting Inspirations on Migonis Home....I can't wait to try these!!!

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    1. Hi Beth- thank you for stopping by. Hope you like it.

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  21. Wow! Looks mouth watering amazing! Found you on the Posed Perfection linkup!

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    1. Thanks Kyla- it was so good and the onions were perfect on the burger.

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  22. What a yummy alternative to meat for a change. I love caramelized onions and anything balsamic! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jann- totally agree about the balsamic.

      See you next week at SYC

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  23. The onions sound absolutely delicious, Linda. Eggplant is something I never liked growing up. But my son (of all people!) taught me to like it. I'm going to add this to my meatless meal list.

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  24. These look delicious! My husband loves eggplant and would love this! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!

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    1. Thanks. Sorry I couldn't make the party this week but will be there next Tuesday!

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  25. G'day Thanks for sharing at our #SayGdayParty We do hope you will stop by if you haven't already and say G'day to someone else at the party and perhaps you will answer a question or two for me! Pinned
    Cheers! Joanne What's On The List?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Joanne- I always pin links from your wonderful party! Thanks so much for hosting.

      Delete
  26. What a wonderful way to serve eggplant! I never used to like eggplant but now it is one of my absolute favourite. Love these Eggplant Burgers with Caramelized Balsamic Onions. Thank you for sharing them with us at the Hearth and Soul hop.

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  27. Your eggplant burgers sound so tasty and flavorful. Perfect for a meatless Monday meal. Thanks for sharing at #theWeekendSocial. Hope to see you again Thursday 9:00 PM EST. Pinned!

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  28. Never heard of an eggplant burger! This sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing it with us at the Teach Me Tuesday Linky Party:)

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    1. Hi Adrian- I always like to try new things and when I saw the recipe I knew I would like it. Hope you enjoy it..

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  29. Not a fan of eggplant but this does look delicious. Thanks for sharing at Project Pin-it!

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  30. I popped over here to pin for Foodie Fridays and I could have sworn I left a comment earlier this week. I wonder what happened! I think your eggplant burgers look delicious and I love carmelized onions. And balsamic vinegar is the best! Looking forward to trying this! Hope to see you back again this week!

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    1. Miichelle- thanks for coming back and adding the comment. I have a HUGE issue with comments not showing up and I have NO idea why?

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  31. I may have just drooled on the keyboard. Yum.

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    1. LOL:-) Sorry about that but it IS really good!

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