Cheeseburger
07-17-2010, 12:22 AM
I posted that I ate this on facebook and got so many good replies, then Ashlee said her dh would love it so I told her I'd post the recipe.
This can easily be made vegetarian/vegan by leaving out the cheese on the bread and sandwich.
First, make this foccacia.
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/focaccia-bread/Detail.aspx
BUT - 1. proof your yeast (put the sugar/water/yeast in a bowl. make sure the water is really warm. when it's foamy, then add the oil, then the rest of the ingredients. This will help! promise).
2. Leave out the garlic, it won't help.... seriously. use the other herbs though.
Ok so, you've got bread for your sandwich.
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Olive Spread:
1/4 cup Kalamata olives in red wine vingear
1/4 cup Black olives in a can (well, i suppose it won't hurt if they are in a jar)
1/4 cup peeled and finely diced carrots
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic put through garlic press
Dash salt
Dash pepper
My olives weren't pitted so I had to pit them. It was a mess, but it doesn't have to be pretty, because they're going to get pulverized anyway. Just get the pits out (or buy pitted olives). Measurements are flexible and don't have to be exact. Throw all the ingredients together and put them through a food processor or a blender, until they are tiny pieces that you can spread with a spatula. It'll look like mush, that's fine. You can make lots of this at once and put it in the fridge for later. You don't want the pieces so small that it's paste, but you don't want it so big that they are crunchy or chewy. You want it fairly oily too, the oil soaks into the bread and is delicious, so you can add a little more if it seems too dry.
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Okay. Now to make the sandwich on the george foreman.
1 fairly large piece of foccacia, cut in half like a bun (it will be fairly thin, not like a hamburger bun)
1 half avocado
Fresh spinach leaves
1 half red pepper
1 slice eggplant
4 thin cucumber slices
2 thin tomato slices
A tablespoon or two (or however much you want) of the olive spread
shredded cheese, i used mozza but you can use whatever, or use nothing if you don't want cheese.
Heat up the george foreman.
Take your foccaica and put the top and bottom side by side. On the top piece, spread the olive spread, then put the fresh spinach leaves on. Then place the cucumbers on top of that, and cheese. On the bottom of the sandwich, spread the avocado (you may have to chop/mix the avocado to make it spreadable. make sure it's ripe enough, unripe avocados do not spread easily!). Then place the tomato slices on the avocado.
Take half the red pepper and cut notches on the "curls" on the top and bottom so it'll squish flat on the grill. Throw the red pepper and eggplant on the grill. If it doesn't grill on both sides b/c it's too thin, you'll have to flip it. When it's nice and grilled and hot, throw the red pepper *upside down* (you want the inside of the pepper facing the cheese as this will melt it), and then throw the eggplant on top of the tomato. Carefully put the two pieces of the sandwich together and put the whole sandwich on the grill. Press it down. Cook until the bread is hot and you have nice grill marks on the top of the bread . It may ooze and if your slices are too thick the eggplant or pepper might come sliding out, so be careful not to press too hard... It may be a little messy to eat, too, but it's super delicious.
------
This can easily be made vegetarian/vegan by leaving out the cheese on the bread and sandwich.
First, make this foccacia.
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/focaccia-bread/Detail.aspx
BUT - 1. proof your yeast (put the sugar/water/yeast in a bowl. make sure the water is really warm. when it's foamy, then add the oil, then the rest of the ingredients. This will help! promise).
2. Leave out the garlic, it won't help.... seriously. use the other herbs though.
Ok so, you've got bread for your sandwich.
-----------------------------
Olive Spread:
1/4 cup Kalamata olives in red wine vingear
1/4 cup Black olives in a can (well, i suppose it won't hurt if they are in a jar)
1/4 cup peeled and finely diced carrots
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic put through garlic press
Dash salt
Dash pepper
My olives weren't pitted so I had to pit them. It was a mess, but it doesn't have to be pretty, because they're going to get pulverized anyway. Just get the pits out (or buy pitted olives). Measurements are flexible and don't have to be exact. Throw all the ingredients together and put them through a food processor or a blender, until they are tiny pieces that you can spread with a spatula. It'll look like mush, that's fine. You can make lots of this at once and put it in the fridge for later. You don't want the pieces so small that it's paste, but you don't want it so big that they are crunchy or chewy. You want it fairly oily too, the oil soaks into the bread and is delicious, so you can add a little more if it seems too dry.
------------------
Okay. Now to make the sandwich on the george foreman.
1 fairly large piece of foccacia, cut in half like a bun (it will be fairly thin, not like a hamburger bun)
1 half avocado
Fresh spinach leaves
1 half red pepper
1 slice eggplant
4 thin cucumber slices
2 thin tomato slices
A tablespoon or two (or however much you want) of the olive spread
shredded cheese, i used mozza but you can use whatever, or use nothing if you don't want cheese.
Heat up the george foreman.
Take your foccaica and put the top and bottom side by side. On the top piece, spread the olive spread, then put the fresh spinach leaves on. Then place the cucumbers on top of that, and cheese. On the bottom of the sandwich, spread the avocado (you may have to chop/mix the avocado to make it spreadable. make sure it's ripe enough, unripe avocados do not spread easily!). Then place the tomato slices on the avocado.
Take half the red pepper and cut notches on the "curls" on the top and bottom so it'll squish flat on the grill. Throw the red pepper and eggplant on the grill. If it doesn't grill on both sides b/c it's too thin, you'll have to flip it. When it's nice and grilled and hot, throw the red pepper *upside down* (you want the inside of the pepper facing the cheese as this will melt it), and then throw the eggplant on top of the tomato. Carefully put the two pieces of the sandwich together and put the whole sandwich on the grill. Press it down. Cook until the bread is hot and you have nice grill marks on the top of the bread . It may ooze and if your slices are too thick the eggplant or pepper might come sliding out, so be careful not to press too hard... It may be a little messy to eat, too, but it's super delicious.
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