I’ve been craving a burger for weeks and I realized I had not put one on the blog yet. I never ever eat them, probably not even 5 a year, but I definitely get a craving for a good burger every once in a while.
These turned out to be so delicious. I made this roasted garlic aioli with a bunch of herbs. So good. Obsessed with roasted garlic. There is a whole head of it in this recipe, so you definitely have to like garlic to like these burgers. The cheese I used is a creamy havarti which melted really well, and then I made delicious sautéed creminis and some shallot crisps for the top. They are the same shallot crisps I made here.
For the aioli:
1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
2 T. mayo
1 1/2 T. chopped herbs of your choice (I used basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, and flat leaf parsley)
1 T. roasted garlic paste (It will be about a head of garlic depending on the size of the bulb)
1 T. olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the shallot crisps:
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
3/4 c. vegetable oil, for frying
1/3 c. flour
Salt and pepper
For the burgers:
1 1/4 lbs. ground beef
4 hamburger buns
Fresh romaine or butter lettuce leaves
8 oz. baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, sliced
1 T. sage, chopped
1 head of garlic
Several slices of creamy havarti cheese (I just shaved some off of a block and saved the rest for sandwiches)
2 T. olive oil
Salt and pepper
Begin by making the roasted garlic. You can even do this the night before. Preheat oven to 400℉. Cut a 1/4-1/2 inch off top of garlic head to reveal all of the cloves. Place head on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap it in. Drizzle exposed cloves with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap up the garlic in the foil, making it like a little purse. Place on a baking sheet or in a small baking dish, and bake for about 40 minutes, depending on the size of the head and your oven. You will know it is done when the garlic is golden brown and soft and caramelized. You want it to look like this. Remove from oven and let cool before squeezing all of the cloves out.
Next, make the aioli. Combine Greek yogurt, mayo, herbs, roasted garlic (when it cools, just squeeze out the cloves onto your cutting board and make a paste with the back of your knife), olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to combine. (You can even put it in the food processor to get it extra smooth. Set aside.
Next, make the shallot crisps. Heat about an inch of vegetable or canola oil in a small saucepan, will be about 3/4-1 c. Thinly slice shallots into rings.
Dredge shallot rings in flour with a little salt and pepper.
You will know when oil is ready when you stick the end of a wooden spoon in the oil and tiny bubbles form around it. Drop 1/3 of shallots in oil, shaking off excess flour, and fry for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Let drain on paper towels, set aside. Do this in 3-4 batches. Season with salt while they are hot.
Make the mushrooms. Heat 2 T. olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium/high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté for 5-6 minutes until mushrooms have golden brown edges and are caramelized. Add chopped sage and salt and pepper and set aside.
Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill to medium/high. Next, form the patties. Make 4 equal sized patties out of the ground beef, and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill patties for 3-4 minutes per side, or until desired doneness. I like mine medium-medium/rare. During the last minute or two, place cheese slices on the burgers and let the cheese melt while burgers are on the grill. Remove and let sit for a few minutes before plating.
Slice buns in half and spread aioli generously on each half. Put some fresh romaine or butter lettuce on top half so that the aioli acts as a glue. Top with a burger, then a spoonful of mushrooms, and a handful of shallot crisps.
I know this has a lot of steps and is a bit time consuming, but if you get the time you should definitely make this. To cut down on prep time, you can swap out the roasted garlic for finely chopped fresh garlic, and use about 1/2 a tablespoon instead. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply