Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sirloin Burgers with Garlic-Black Pepper-Parmesan Sauce & Roasted Tomatoes with Basil & Balsamic Drizzle

This month's selection from Rachel Ray's Look + Cook is a juicy Italian delight of a burger!  A thick and juicy sirloin burger is topped with a garlicky black pepper Parmesan sauce, a slow roasted tomato, fresh basil leaves and a thick balsamic drizzle.  The burger itself is rather sophisticated, but make no mistake about it.....it is a juicy, flavorful and extremely messy burger.  Just like a burger should be.

Sirloin Burgers with Garlic-Black Pepper-Parmesan Sauce & Roasted Tomatoes with Basil & Balsamic Drizzle
 Adapted from Rachel Ray's Look + Cook
Time: 1.5 hours, or less
Serves 4

3 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 tablespoons EVOO, plus more for drizzling
salt and pepper, plus 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
2 pounds coarse-ground sirloin (I used l lb for 4 burgers and found it was plenty)
3 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated (I used 4 medium sized cloves; wished I had used more)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Balsamic drizzle (store-bought, or reduce 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar with 3 tbsp. brown sugar over medium heat until thick and syrupy, a couple minutes)_
7-8 red leaf or red romain lettuce leaves, shredded
4  kaiser rolls, toasted
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, 8-10 leaves, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Place a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet.  Arrange the tomatoes on the rack, then drizzle with a touch of EVOO and season the tomato slices with salt and pepper.  Roast the tomatoes for 45 minutes, or until tender and caramelized.  Set aside.

When the tomatoes are about ready, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with the 2 tablespoons of EVOO.  While the pan is heating up, combine the sirloin with some salt and pepper.  Form the mixture into 4 patties thicker at the edges and thinner in the center for even cooking and to ensure you end up with a flat burger (the burgers will bulge up during cooking).  Cook patties for 10 minutes for medium-rare, turning once.  Cook for 12 minutes for pink centers and 14 minutes for well-done.

While the patties are cooking, place a small pot over medium heat with the butter.  Add the garlic to the melted butter and cook for about 1 minute.  Add the flour to the pan and cook for 1 minute more.  Season with salt and the coarse black pepper.  Whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture and bring up to a bubble.  Simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the grated cheese.  Prepare a balsamic drizzle in a small pot if not using storebought.

To assemble, place some lettuce on each bun bottom and top it with a burger patty.  Pour garlic-black pepper-Parmesan sauce over the top, set the roasted tomatoes in the sauce, scatter basil over the tomatoes, and garnish with balsamic drizzle.  Set the bun tops in place and serve.
Notes/Results:  This is one amazing and juicy burger!  It does require a little more time than a traditional burger, but the results are outstanding. The garlicky black pepper Parmesan sauce had me swooning, but I must admit that it was the bursts of flavor from the roasted tomatoes, basil, and balsamic drizzle was my favorite in the end.  The only changes I made to the recipe was to add more garlic to the Parmesan sauce and should I make this again (very likely) I will add even more garlic to the Parmesan sauce.  The recipe didn't call for the burger buns to be toasted, but every time I make a burger I almost always toast the bun.  I like that extra little crunch.  Delicious!!
My friend Brenda of Brenda's Canadian Kitchen and I are having a lot of fun choosing one recipe per month from Rachel Ray's new Look + Cook.  Please click on the above link to Brenda's site to see her version of this delicious burger!  Brenda's pick for next month is Rachel's Creole Meat Loves with Trinity Gravy & Buttermilk Sweet Potatoes.

23 comments:

  1. Hi Kim! You have me craving this burger all over again. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as we did, that Parmesan sauce is something else, isn't it? I'll link you up to my post now. Enjoy your day!

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  2. The best burgers certainly are the messiest! Otherwise you're just eating it wrong :P Looks delicious!

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  3. Wow that looks amazing!! I'm saving this one! :)

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  4. I shouldn't be reading this so close to dinner! There's nothing I like better than sirloin burgers dripping with melted cheese. I think I can get that first bite in my big mouth, too! :)

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  5. That's putting regular burgers everywhere to shame....looks out of this world delicious :)

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  6. YUMMMMMMY these look fab!!!:)

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  7. Yum! I love burgers, and this one looks especially delicious!

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  8. Oh - just looking at the Parmesan sauce oozing over the burger delights. And it's gloriously messy. On my list. And checking and probably making it twice.

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  9. Complicated and simple...I love it! That garlic Parmesan sauce looks simply delish!

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  10. I am loving your recipes, Kim! You make all of the meals my family likes. I made your pot roast (which I will eventually post with a link back) and your florentine pizza and loved them both. These burgers are next on my list. They look great:)

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  11. I'm normally not a RR fan. But that sauce calls to me!

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  12. I couldn't get my mouth around that...my husband would disagree...wait, that sounds rude.. I mean, That's a BIG burger and, you know.

    Great looking photo of a delicious juicy lunch.

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  13. just thinking about those flavors has my mouth watering! i love putting fun spins on burgers, fantastic!

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  14. This looks wonderful. I know I'd love to have one of these. Your photo is terrific and that burger is welcome at my table anytime. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  15. What a delectable burger Kim! Al the components sound so delicious on their own! I love it. I didn't know you could buy balsamic drizzle.

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  16. OK--I definitely should not be looking at this burger while on my vegan challenge! lol.;-) It looks delicious. You really have made some great recipes from that book,

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  17. Oh yes please - I want this burger!

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  18. I am loving this book-- that I bought, because of you. Rachael makes great burgers. I've bookmarked a lot of her recipes, and now I've got one more to try. Yumm-o!

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  19. It is hard to beat a great burger, isn't it? I love the cheese sauce.

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  20. I feel like getting messy right now with that burger. Although I get in a worse mess eating spaghetti than any burger. People aren't safe around me when im twirling my fork. :)

    Ah only recently caught Rachel Ray over here. She's excellent, I notice Jamie Oliver copies some of her stuff on his shows aired here. Naughty. lol.

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  21. An outstanding share! I've just forwarded this onto a co-worker who had been conducting a little homework on this. And he in fact bought me breakfast due to the fact that I found it for him... lol. So allow me to reword this.... Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to discuss this issue here on your site.

    Take a look at my web site: http://www.dakotaentertainment.com/wiki/wikka.php?wakka=TorstenexMintzqr

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