Hearty eggplant (cheese) burgers

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 large eggplants
• 2 eggs
• tbsp flour
• Breadcrumbs
• 400 g minced beef
• salt and pepper
• Herbs (e.g. parsley)
• Oil for frying
• 50 ml ketchup
• 30 ml garlic sauce
• ½ tsp paprika powder, hot
• 4 tomatoes
• Pickle(s)
• fried onions
• 4 slice(s) cheese, spicy (e.g. Appenzeller), optional
• possibly fried onions

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

juicy and even low carb, makes 8 pieces

First, mix the ketchup with the garlic sauce for the burger sauce. Add the paprika and season to taste. Wash and trim the eggplants, then cut the thickest parts into 16 slices, each approximately 7-10 mm thick. Whisk the eggs and place the flour and breadcrumbs in separate deep plates. Heat the oil in a pan. Coat the eggplant slices first in a little flour, then in the egg mixture, and then in the breadcrumbs. Fry in the hot oil on both sides for about 2 minutes, depending on their thickness, until crispy. Caution: The oil must be really hot, otherwise the eggplants will absorb the fat. Drain on kitchen paper. For the patties, season the ground meat with pepper, salt, and herbs. Form very flat patties that are slightly larger than the eggplant slices and fry in a little oil until crispy. Wash and slice the tomatoes, and also slice the gherkins. Place an eggplant slice on a plate, top with meat, burger sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and perhaps some fried onions, and secure with a toothpick. Salad goes very well with this. Simply dice the remaining eggplant, season, and fry it with the remaining breading, if desired (it also tastes great with this). Variations: For cheeseburgers, place half a slice of cheese on each burger patty and let it melt briefly in the pan with the lid closed. Then assemble as described. For “real” low-carb burgers, simply skip the breading and fry the eggplant slices in oil until crispy.