Recipe: Hamburgers Italiano

Cookbook

Hamburgers Italiano

Hamburger all 'Italiana
Makes 4 sandwiches

When I came to the States, I fell in a big way for hamburgers. Experimenting with leftovers from my refrigerator, I ended up with this version of the all-American sandwich.

1/4 pound sliced pepperoni sausage
1/4 pound spicy Italian-style sausage, casing removed
1/4 pound ground lamb
1/4 pound ground veal
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
4 hamburger buns, or soft kaiser or onion rolls, sliced open
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 thin slices sweet onion
4 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
4 thin slices fresh tomato

Preheat the broiler.

Process the pepperoni in the food processor until finely minced. Combine the pepperoni, sausage, lamb, veal, egg yolks, bread crumbs, and Romano. Do not over-mix. with clean hands, loosely form 4 hamburger patties, 1/4-inch thick. Place on a broiler pan and broil for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until cooked through.

Toast the buns or rolls lightly, and rub the toasted interiors gently with the garlic. Place a slice of onion on the bottom half of each bun or roll. Top each with a burger, and top each burger with a quarter of the provolone and a slice of tomato.

Chef's Tip:
These are moist burgers with a kick. If you can't find spicy sausage, use sweet and add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes when combining the meats.

Buy the Book!

Nick Stellino's Passione
Pasta, Pizza, and Panini
By Nick Stellino
Black and white photographs by Nanci Stellino
G.P. Putnam's Sons, November 2000
Hardcover, $28.95
368 pages, color, black & white illustrations
ISBN: 0-399-14657-1
Recipe reprinted by permission.