Bruschetta Burger Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean Ground Beef
• 3 teaspoons Montreal Steak Spice
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 cup Oatmeal
• 6 Focaccia Bread
• 1 tablespoon Mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Basil Pesto
• Mozzarella Cheese
• 6 -12 tablespoons Tomato Bruschetta Topping (See recipe below)

Directions

1. Combine ground beef,steak spice, egg and oatmeal.
2. Form into patties.
3. Grill patties over medium heat turning frequently for approximately 5 minutes per side.
4. On one half of the Focaccia bread spread the mayonnaise and top with mozzarella cheese.
5. Heat bun until cheese is melted.
6. Place the cooked burger patty atop the side of the bun with the mozzarella cheese on it.
7. Top the burger patty with basil pesto followed by Tomato Bruschetta Topping - 1-2 tablespoons to taste.

Tomato Bruschetta Topping

Ingredients

1. 2 Tomatoes, diced
2. 4 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese, shredded
3. 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
4. 1 Garlic Clove, minced
5. 1/8 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
6. 2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
7. 1 teaspoon Basil, chopped
8. 1/8 teaspoon Oregano, chopped
9. 1 tablespoon green onion, chopped

Directions

1. Combine everything and mix well.

Yamburger

I've been wanting to incorporate Yam (or Taro root) in a vege patty for the longest time. I just never got around to it just like I haven't got around to a lot of things in my life ... cleaning out the store room, paying my bills, clearing my wardrobe of clothes I haven't worn in a year, etc. Butlet's get back to the yam-burger. It's nothing revolutionary nor is it particularly innovative. Instead of using boiled potatoes (as many do in a vege or non vege patty), i used steamed and then mashed yam. It's more flavourful than the spud and less starchy ... and it's perfect for binding the rest of the ingredients together.

What can you add to a yamburger? (The PIC above is the patty before it was fried btw) Well, the choices are endless. If you want it healthy, you can add some bulgar wheat, beans, wheatgerm to regular vegetables like chopped carrots, peppers, celery and the like. I retained my primary patty ingredient -- tofu -- but reduced the quantity from two whole square to just one. I chopped some carrots, red peppers, mushrooms, coriander, green chillies and wheat germ ) in place of breadcrumbs and seasoned it with oregano, pepper and salt. Oh, and chilli flakes and onion powder.



I didn't coat this patty with breadcrumbs; instead a left some wheatgerm for the cakes to lighty  roll on prior to frying. It doesn't take long to cook ... heat the oil first and when it's hot enough, slilde in the patties, reduce heat and cook till both sides are golden. Since the yams are already steamed the only thing you need to worry about is the tofu which doesn't need to cook  for long.

The result was delicious, yay! If I were to change anything, I would use more of the yam and less tofu. For this patty, I used 1 tofu, 1 cup roughly mashed yam, 1/4 cup chopped coriander, 1/2 chopped green chilli, 2 tbsp carrots, red peppers and mushrooms -- all chopped small, 1/2 cup wheat germ and more for coating, 1 tsp oregano, dash of soy sauce and salt and pepper.



Of course, you can add other vegetables and you can spice it up with some red chilli flakes too. Sometimes though, too many ingredients (like too many cooks) spoil it all. So, be mindful.

Mushroom Burger

I learnt my lesson the hard way. About six years ago, I was lunching with  some buds in a deli-styled eatery in KL and I ordered a mushroom burger thinking it would be a vegetarian burger made of mushrooms. The menu didn't offer a description of the burger so I assumed...

Imagine my embarrassment when the burger arrived: a huge chunk of beef patty with a generous mushroom topping and some white sauce, some variation of mayonnaise I assume. I protested, but to no avail of course. The waiter thought I was being ridiculous: who would order a burger made of mushrooms (he didn't say it but his expression shouted it!).

I pushed my plate aside, dejected, an sipped on my smoothie. Oh bother, these all-meat eateries.

Mushroom burgers are not something I conjured up, in case you are wondering. Portobello mushroom burgers are quite popular, perhaps not in our cafes. I've had them (they serve them at The Daily Grind in Bangsar Village) and I love them. You can't go wrong with mushrooms, really. Especially not the Portobello, surely a royal mushroom.

At home, I make mushroom burgers/sandwiches all the time. I either incorporate them in vege burger patties or, like the one above, I make sandwiches with a variety of mushroom fillings. The one above is made from sautéed mushrooms in a creamy cheese sauce, served with roasted tomatoes on sprouts. I usually use lettuce or salad but I had some sprouts at home and used them instead.

Cheesy Mushroom chompers

1 cups mushrooms (swiss brown, button white and fresh shiitake), separate the stems from the caps.

1/4 cup cheddar

1/4 cup parmesan (you can add blue cheese too if you feel extravagant)

4 tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 sprigs thyme

1 med onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Chop the mushroom stems; quarter the caps.

Heat 2 tbsp butter and saute the caps with thyme, season with salt and pepper, remove and set aside.

Heat  butter. Add onions and then garlic and saute till soft. Add chopped stems and cook till soft, about 5 mins. Stir in cheese and nuts. Cook for a couple of mins.

Lay sautéed caps on baking sheet and pour half the cheesy sauce over. Bake in 180C oven for about 15 mins. Remove. Pour remaining sauce over.

Assemble the chomper: Layers of sprouts, mustard, cheesy mushrooms and roasted tomato in between sesame burger buns.