Move over eggplant parmesan this eggplant recipe is the right way to enjoy eggplant – in a burger! Eggplant’s meaty texture makes it perfect in a burger so if you’re a meat lover these burgers won’t disappoint.
Every time I see an eggplant the poor thing is dredged through tomato sauce, and blanketed in cheese.
As I placed the eggplant on my cutting board about to slice, I could swear I heard them beckoning to me not to suffer the fate of most of their clan in the form of another eggplant parmesan recipe.
For those of you who love eggplant parm, I apologize however I think it’s about time to liberate our purple friends from sauce and cheese…
Enter these delicious fire roasted eggplant burgers. I just love this eggplant recipe!
I know what you’re thinking. Eggplant in a burger?!
Yes it IS possible and I swear that you’ll love it.So I’m trying to do my part and help to curb food waste, so faced with the end of the week and having ingredients on hand that needed to be used up these babies were born. I had no tomato sauce but even if I did I still wouldn’t make eggplant parm! Lol
Although there is just something about tomatoes on a vine…
In fact I’ll admit to two things:
1) I won’t buy tomatoes unless the vine is partially attached. 2) I have been known to detach a few vines while in the supermarket to unleash the smell of the vine. I don’t know what it is but that smell is just SO intoxicating to me!
In fact while I was taking my sommelier program several years ago my fellow students and I were faced with a blind taste test. We were presented with several different wines and had to identify the aromas of each. There was one aroma in one of the wines that was stumping everybody else. Want to take a guess?
You guessed it.
Tomato vines!!! As I shouted it out I was greeted with a chorus of ‘how did you know that?’ from my other wine loving friends. That wine by the way was Monkey Bay, and is still one of my favs.
I just have a thing for picking up aromas. I tend to smell things minutes ahead of when others can smell it. I have a hunch as to why I have a hyper sensitive sense of smell.
As a child I would ALWAYS smell my food before I ate. As a matter of fact I never ate anything without smelling it first. If I’m honest I maaaay still do that now….don’t judge.
Eggplants for some reason don’t seem to bask in the glory as some other vegetables.
Research has shown that eggplant reduces cholesterol however they retain most of their nutrients when they are baked instead of fried. This is because frying allows them to soak up more fat, which is no good.
Iron and calcium are just a couple of the essential nutrients in eggplants. They have also long been thought to be helpful in fighting diabetes due to their high fiber and low soluble carbohydrate content.
To take advantage of their essential phyto nutrients which improve blood circulation and promote brain health, you’ll want to make sure that you keep the skin on rather than cutting it off.
I should mention that the ‘fire roasted’ from this burger is due to the canned chipotle peppers. They can be quite spicy however I found that they gave the burgers a nice smoky heat. I used two teaspoons but if you want to dial back 1 teaspoon is fine.
I am all for meals that I can assemble in under 20 minutes and these eggplant burgers fit that bill.
If you are a meat lover, I promise that these burgers won’t disappoint. Why not Pin this recipe for later?
Source:
https://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-great-reasons-to-eat-eggplants.html
Fire Roasted Eggplant Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil plus more to brush on eggplant before roasting
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 14 ounce can cannellini beans
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper diced
- 1/2 eggplant about 1 cup
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 clove of garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or celery salt
- 1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup Sabra Caramelized Onion & Smoked Paprika hummus or your favorite hummus
- 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, optional
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs not seasoned
For Topping
- Tomato sliced
- Spinach or lettuce
- Tahini sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 and line baking sheet with foil.
- Cut eggplant into it into 1/4″ slices and brush each side with olive oil.
- Place on baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes on one side. Flip and then roast for another 5 minutes.
- When the eggplants are getting nice and roasty, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add the diced red onion and cook over medium heat, stirring often for 5 minutes or until the onion softens.
- Once the eggplant is done remove from the oven and turn down oven to 400.
- Place the eggplant, onion, beans, bell pepper, parsley, garlic, sea salt and cumin into a large bowl.
- Add hummus and adobo sauce and stir.
- Place mixture into a food processor or blender and pulse ingredients together until just about smooth.
- Pour mixture back into a bowl and stir in the panko crumbs. Form into four patties.
- Line a baking sheet with another sheet of aluminum foil (or reuse the same one if not too dirty) spray with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. Place the patties on the foil and bake for 45 minutes, turning them over halfway through.
- Remove the burgers from the oven and top with tahini, tomato and spinach or your favourite toppings!