Cheesy Lasagna Burger

Pairs well with:

Zinfandel

Bright and full-bodied, this Zinfandel wine is a curious contradiction in tastes.

Ingredients:

Pasta Circles
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 large egg
•2 tablespoons water
•1/2 teaspoon olive oil
•1/4 teaspoon salt
Tomato Spread
•15 oz tomato sauce
•6 oz tomato paste
•1 teaspoon white sugar
•¼ teaspoon fennel seed
•1 teaspoon fresh cut basil
•¼ teaspoon dried parsley
•¼ teaspoon salt
•¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Vegetable Sauté
•1 tablespoon butter
•1 large Vidalia onion
•1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
•1 cup of minced Portabella mushrooms
•1 teaspoon fresh oregano
Cheese Spread
•1 cup ricotta cheese
•½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
•½ cup freshly grated asiago cheese
•½ teaspoon garlic salt
•½ teaspoon freshly chopped oregano
Patties
•Vegetable Sauté
•1 ½ pounds ground chuck
•3/4 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
•1 beaten egg
Buns
•loaf of French bread
•half a stick of butter
•1 tablespoons of minced garlic
•6 slices of mozzarella cheese (to be melted on during cooking)

Instructions:

To make the Pasta Circles: On a clean surface make a well with the flour. In a small bowl mix the eggs, water, oil, and salt. Pour the wet mixture slowly into the flour and mix with your 2 fingers until the entire wet mixture is incorporated. Do not force the dough to take all of the flour. Form the dough into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the cooler for 1 hour to rest.

Prepare your grill by making a two-zone fire (Spread the coals in a tightly packed single layer across one-half of the charcoal grate), or preheat a gas grill to medium high heat.

To make the Tomato Spread, combine Tomato Sauce, Tomato paste, White Sugar, Fennel Seed, Fresh Cut Basil, Dried Parsley, Salt, and Italian Seasoning in a small saucepan with a lid and place on the lowest heat area on your grill. Stir regularly through out the rest of the recipe, making sure it doesn’t burn.

To make the Vegetable Sauté, heat 1 Tablespoon Butter in a large sauté pan over highest heat area. Mince the Vidalia onion, the Garlic, and the Portabella Mushrooms. Add the onions and sauté for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic, Portabella Mushrooms, and Oregano and continue cooking an additional 10 minutes.

To make the Cheese Spread, combine in a bowl Ricotta Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Asiago Cheese, Garlic Salt, and Oregano. Mix until creamy and smooth. Place in a cooler until needed.

Combine in a large bowl, your Vegetable Sauté, ground chuck, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, and Beaten Egg. Mix all the ingredients together and place in cooler until needed.

Put 3 cups of water in a small saucepan and put on the hottest portion of the grill to boil. Remove the pasta dough from the cooler and divide the pasta into four equal portions. Lightly flour your workspace. Using a Pasta roller, place the knob on the thickest setting and run the pasta through the roller three or four times, folding the dough over each time to work the dough. Run the dough through the roller each time moving to a thinner setting until you reach the thickness of a Quarter. Use a 3-inch Cookie cutter to cut out circles of pasta. Boil your pasta circles for about 8-10 min. While the pasta is cooking, heat a small frying pan on medium heat. Drain your pasta circles. On the grill using a small pan with no-stick cooking spray, fry the pasta until they lose their slippery appearance.

To make the patties, take out your hamburger mix and split into six equal piles. Take one pile and split in two portions. Each portion you will pat down to form a patty. You will put the two portions together with a piece of fried pasta in the middle making sure the pasta is completely covered in between the two patties of hamburger and no pasta is showing. Repeat this process until you have six equal hamburgers.

Slice the Loaf of French Bread into twelve ½-inch slices. Do not use any slices with large air holes. On the grill melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the garlic. Place your hamburger patties on the grill on medium heat. Cook the patties for 10 min on each side. Meanwhile, lightly spread the Garlic Butter on 12 slices of the French bread and toast on each side until golden brown. 2 minutes before the hamburgers are done, top each patty with a slice of Mozzarella Cheese.

To assemble the Lasagna Burgers, spread the Cheese Spread on the bottom piece of French bread, than place a hamburger patty on top, than spread a spoon full of the tomato spread on each of the patties, than top with another slice of French Bread. Enjoy!