It's Friday, so we get to live a little!
Actually, let's just say it's Friday, and we get to continue to live our lives how ever we want, hmm? And today that means thin, crispy burger patties piled too high with mozzarella, roasted red pepper, and balsamic tossed greens, and barely contained within two thick, fluffy slices of garlic-buttered texas toast.
I bet you left at "balsamic tossed greens" but I got you back with that "garlic-buttered texas toast" didn't I?
Trust me, you want the greens, to cut through the cheese and the butter. There's so much butter.
In truth, each of these burgers has two full tablespoons of butter slathered on the bread, probably enough to grease up that guy from Tonga, but it is so, so worth it. Because we deserve these, right? Because the news this week has just been horrendously depressing. Because Olympic figure skating is over, which means no more of Johnny Weir's Caesar Flickerman hair or Adam Rippon's explanations of witchcraft. Sometimes only butter makes it better. so make whatever devil's bargain you need to with your arteries and dive in.
Bruschetta Burgers on Thick Garlic Toast
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tbs chopped parsley
- 1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
- dash of balsamic vinegar, plus more for greens
- 1 bell pepper, seeded
- olive oil, for roasting and for greens
- good handful fresh basil
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella
- baby greens
- sea salt
- 8 slices texas toast
- 8 tbs good quality salted butter, softened
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 tsp fresh minced parsley
- In a large bowl, mix beef with salt, shallot, 1 tbs parsley, oregano and balsamic and form into thin patties, either 4 large patties or 8 small ones. Patties should be about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Set aside to come to room temperature, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, assemble and prepare remaining burger components. Roast the red pepper: heat oven to 400 degrees, drizzle pepper with a little olive oil and roast on a parchment lined baking sheet until soft and charred, 20-30 minutes. Transfer pepper to a sealable plastic bag or wrap in foil to steam for about 10 minutes, then peel off skin. Cut into strips and set aside.
- Tear basil into large pieces and slice mozzarella. Set both aside.
- In a small bowl, mix baby greens with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss. Sprinkle with some sea salt and set aside.
- In small bowl, mix butter, garlic, and 2 tsp parsley then spread liberally on both sides of each slice of bread.
- Heat a skillet or griddle to medium high heat. Toast bread slices on each side until golden, then remove to serving plates. Cook beef patties about 2 minutes on each side, then remove from skillet and divide between plates. Place each patty (or 2, if making smaller ones) on a slice of toast, then pile with mozzarella, roasted tomato and greens. Top with remaining toast and serve immediately.