FREE COOKING: GREENS LOVER BURGER!!!

If you are a true greens lover, you will LOVE this hamburger!

 

This burger came to me today as I looked at my leftover vegan eggplant parmigiana, and a bunch of collard greens and purple kale that were about to go bad if not used! I had the awesome idea of eating the leftover eggplant with these two greens, inside this delicious Ezekiel 4:9 sesame bun!  

If you've never tried these, you should!!! Not only are they super healthy for you, but they taste pretty awesome too :)

The vegan eggplant parmigiana I made for dinner last night, but I didn't have all the ingredients required, so I wasn't able to try it as it's "supposed" to be. To me it turned out good (given that I LOVE eggplants), but definitely did not impress me. It was a little bland to my taste. BUT, in this sandwich, it was AMAZING!!! 

Here is the recipe for the eggplant parmigiana [here]. I'm sure if you plan ahead and buy all the needed ingredients, the end result will be a lot more interesting in flavor, but in case it's bland...don't worry! You can always turn them into this:

I guess the ideal thing would be to make eggplant parmigiana for one meal, and use the leftover in this burger, if you wanted to try this out. TOTALLY WORTH IT, if you ask me! Especially if you happen to be a veggie lover like me :) 

So to make this was quite simple! First I prepared the greens:

• Washed leafs(1 bunch of collard greens & 1 bunch of purple kale), removed stems and finely chopped them. Set it aside.
• Chopped one onion and put in a large skillet with some sprayed oil, then added lots of minced garlic (used about 5 cloves) and let it cook until golden, adding a little water as necessary so it wouldn't burn.
• Once onion and garlic were translucent and golden, I added both chopped leafs and let it cook under medium-high heat for a couple of minutes and then turned heat off. I have an electric stove top, so it takes a while for the heat to be completely off. 
• Added a little bit of sesame seeds, onion powder, ground ginger & smoked paprika (but you can use whatever you like)
• Added liquid aminos (can use soy sauce) to taste.

This by itself is already SO good! Simple, quick and delicious. I like to leave the leafs a little undercooked and with its color bright. It's better for you, because the less they are cooked, the higher their nutrient content. I also find it tastier a little crunchier.

Next, I toasted the buns, and spread that amazing zesty Italian dipping oil I ALWAYS talk about! If you haven't seen it yet, here it is again:

If you like thyme, garlic and hot pepper, you will totally dig this! My husband is in love with the stuff. He spreads everywhere, including in his morning toast. So inspired by him, I spread some of this oil on the toasted buns, then added the leftover eggplant parmigiana (heated) and freshly cooked greens. 

I'm telling yah! This became TOTALLY awesome. My husband could not stop complimenting it with every bite!  

Just how I like it :)

I understand this is NOT an easy dish to make, because the eggplant parmigiana is a bit time consuming (I found it to be!), but as a leftover fix, it's quick, healthy and SO tasty that I just could not resist sharing!!! 

I'm filled with "drafts" of dishes to post about, but this one earned its bump! ;)

ENJOY!

Bom Apetite! !!