Provence Goat Cheese Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground sirloin
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tbsp. minced onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. herbes de Provence
• 4 oz. reduced-fat goat cheese, crumbled (2/3 cup)
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 whole-wheat or whole-grain hamburger buns, lightly toasted

Makes 4 Servings

 

WW POINTS VALUE: 5pts without bun 8 pts. with bun

1. In a large bowl, combine ground sirloin, egg yolk, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, mustard, herbes de Provence, and goat cheese. Season beef mixture with salt and pepper at your own leisure. Form mixture into 4 patties, about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick.
2. Lightly coat a large skillet or grill with olive oil flavored cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add burger patties and cook until cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers to 160 F.
3. Serve burgers on buns, if using, or on bed of romaine lettuce, arugula or spinach and top with aioli, grilled onions, sliced tomatoes or sun-dried tomato pesto.

Note: This is a recipe I created this past weekend when I was cleaning out the refrigerator and had a craving for a gourmet cheeseburger. Sometimes when you're craving beef but you don't want to cook steak and vegetables a cheeseburger will do just fine. I was craving a gourmet cheeseburger and so I was looking through my refrigerator to see what I had to eat. Thank goodness I had all the items I needed to make a gourmet cheeseburger. I have never been to France but I can only imagine this is what Provence tastes like: creamy and heavenly delicious. The crumbled goat cheese gave the burger a nice tangy taste and the tomato paste gave it an extra kick of flavor. If you have to use bread crumbs in this burger to hold everything together, I highly recommend it. As for the toppings, I highly recommend a bed of romaine lettuce, arugula or spinach, sliced grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, tomato, aioli (garlic mayonnaise) and/or sun-dried tomato pesto for an authentic Mediterranean flare. As for the olive oil, I highly recommend Herbes de Provence Infused Olive Oil from the Imperial Olive. Fore more information, visit www.TheImperialOlive.com.