The Lasagna Burger

Ingredients

For the Burgers:
2 T Colavita Olive Oil
½ lb of spicy Italian Sausage
1 ½ lbs. of ground chuck 80/20 blend
1 tsp of salt
½ tsp of fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp of crushed red pepper
1 tsp of fennel seed

For the Tomato Sauce:
1/4 cup of diced onion
1 16 oz can of tomato sauce
¼ cup of Sutter Home Chardonnay
1 T fresh basil, minced
1T fresh oregano, minced
1 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
2 T. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

For the Cheese Spread:
½ cup of small curd cottage cheese
½ cup of Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of fresh parmesan cheese, grated finely
2 T fresh flat Italian parsley, minced
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Bread:
12 slices of Italian bread ¾” thick
4 T of softened butter
1 T of garlic powder
1 tsp of kosher salt
6 slices of mozzarella cheese , cut to the size of the burgers

Instructions

Assembly:
Light your charcoal and bring to a medium high heat. In a fireproof sauté pan, heat the olive oil and add the ground sausage until it is cooked through. Drain, the sausage, reserving as much of the oil in the pan as possible. Let cool, then combine the sausage, ground chuck, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and fennel seeds. Form into six patties, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until you are ready to grill.

To make the tomato sauce, sauté the onions with the reserved oil for about 4 to 5 minutes or until they become translucent. Next, add the tomato sauce, Chardonnay, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, sugar, tomato paste, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently until it is very thick. Once this is achieved, remove from heat and set aside.

While the tomato sauce is thickening, in large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, parmessan cheese, chopped parsley, and black pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Next, to the softened butter, add the garlic powder and kosher salt. Spread this mixture on each of the pieces of bread.

Now you are ready to grill the burgers, cooking 6-7 minutes on each side. After you have flipped your burgers, place the mozzarella cheese on them in the last 3-4 minutes of cooking to melt the cheese. Remove the burgers from the grill, cover with foil. As the burgers are “resting”, grill the slices of bread on both sides until there are nice grill marks. Watch the slices of bread carefully, so they do not burn.

For final assembly spread the ricotta cheese mixture on one slice of bread and the tomato sauce on the second slice. Place the burger between the two slices of bread and savor every bite of your Lasagna Burger with a nice glass of red wine!