Cheesy roasted garlic burgers

Roasted garlic yourself it’s dead easy. It goes beautifully with cheese & basil & is just yummy. A winner all round.

• 2 Garlic bulbs
• 1 tbsp Oil

Ingredients for patties:

• 3/4 cup (3 0z) Grated Parmesan
• 1 (1/3 cup) Small onion, finely sliced
• 1/3 cup Oil packed dried tomatoes, snipped up finely
• 1/2 cup Freshly chopped basil
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 lb Ground beef
• 8 oz Italian sausage
• 6 oz Mozzarella cheese

Ingredients to serve:

• 6 Ciabatta/round rolls, opened
• Olive oil
• Baby spinach leaves
• Ripe olives for garnishing
• (Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tbsp freshly basil & 1-2 tbsp olive tapenade) Olive mayo

Preparation:

Set to oven to heat at 400°F. Roasted garlic: Chopped the tips off the garlic bulbs (exposing the tops of the cloves) & remove the loose papery leaves. You will now make foil parcels with the bulbs in the middle: spread out the foil, put the bulbs cut side down & drizzle the lot with 1 tbsp olive oil. Now wrap the foil up & over to make package. Roasted until the cloves are soft & starting to pull loose (30-35). When cool enough to handle, squish the cloves out & mash to form a paste. The patties: Now add this tasty smelling garlic together with the Parmesan, onion, dried tomatoes, basil, pepper, & salt. Mix lightly & then the meats can join the party. Again, mix very lightly & shape into 12 patties: 1/2 thick & 4 wide. and the filling. Slices up the mozzarella into 6 slices (1/2 wide). Top half the patties with cheese & then close the sandwich with the other 6 patties. Pinch the edges together to seal. You don’t want cheese leaking out. Cheese is sacred. Now cook: Charcoal grill: Place a drip pan in between some med hot coals cook the patties on a rack above the pan, but make sure that the temperature around the rack is also med hot. Grill for 10 minutes, turn & grill until done (160°F), about 10 minutes. Gas grill: Preheat & lower heat to med hot. Pop the patties onto a rack away from the heat & cover the grill. Cover & cook as per charcoal instructions. But don’t forget the buns: Brush the insiders with oil & get them toasting (over direct heat) during the last minute of cooking the meat. Assemble with leaves & olives & serve with a wooden skewer through the middle. Beware the cheese inside is really hot.