Gourmet Hamburger

An unusual burger with grilled aubergines, smoked provolone cheese, parmesan sauce and courgette pesto.

An explosion of flavour in every bite!

See also: Flat Piadina   

See also: Soft Bread Focaccine

Ingredients for 4 people:Soft Hamburger Bread

• Hamburger Bread n4 or:
• Minced beef 800g
• Smoked Provolone cheese 4 slices
• Red onion 1
• Rocket 100g
• Iceberg Salad 1 stalk
• Aubergines 1
• Oil 10ml
• Paprika (optional)
• Curry powder 1 teaspoon
• Salt Pepper to taste

For the Zucchini Pesto

• Courgettes 2
• Anchovies 2 
• Capers one tablespoon
• Parsley a sprig
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Evo oil 15ml

For the Parmesan Sauce

• Grated Parmesan 70g
• Milk 350ml
• Butter 30g
• White flour 30g
• Garlic 1 clove
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Procedure:

In a bowl put 800g of beef, salt, pepper, a teaspoon of curry powder and 10ml of oil, possibly some strong paprika if you like a stronger taste.

Knead by hand for a few minutes to allow the meat to marinate, then form 4 x 200g meatballs with a 12/14cm noodle cutter and give them the classic rounded shape.

Now let's move on to the courgette pesto:

Wash the courgettes and cut them into pieces without giving much importance to the shape, put 15ml of evo oil, half of the parsley, a peeled and crushed clove of garlic in a pan and let the oil flavour for a few minutes over a low flame. Add the courgettes, which should just take heat for about 4/5 minutes, caramelising on the edges and remaining crispy in the centre.

Transfer them into a long and narrow container suitable for the minipimmer, add the remaining parsley, 10ml of evo oil, a spoonful of capers, 2 anchovies, salt and pepper and blend coarsely without creating a velvety sauce. 

Let's move on to the Parmesan sauce:

In a fairly large saucepan, melt 30g butter cut into small pieces and a peeled clove of garlic over low heat. 

Once the butter has melted, add 30g of sifted flour and stir to create the "white Roux".

As soon as the mixture turns a light golden colour, add the 350ml of milk and whisk to avoid lumps and leave to cook for about 10 minutes.

When it comes to the boil, turn off the heat and add salt and pepper and a generous handful of grated Parmesan cheese (about 70g). Let it cool slightly and use the minipimmer to make it fluid and creamy. 

Slice the red onion and cut the iceberg lettuce into julienne strips.

Now we can turn on the grill! We start by slicing the aubergines and grilling them, followed by the hamburgers, we heat the bread and start to compose the burgers, we give the bread two tablespoons of courgette pesto, a handful of iceberg lettuce, followed by the hamburger and a slice of smoked provolone cheese, grilled aubergines, red onion, rocket and Parmesan sauce at will, we finish with the bread and voila!