Italian Meatball Burgers

By VegasBartender

These saucy, family-friendly burgers might be best eaten with a knife and fork. If you'd like to go bunless, serve over spaghetti with extra sauce. We enjoyed these with a side of macaroni salad.

Bruce Weinstein, Cooking Light

AUGUST 2007

Ingredients

• 6 (1.5-ounce) frozen ciabatta rolls with rosemary and olive oil
• 8 ounces sweet turkey Italian sausage
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
• 6 large basil leaves
• 6 tablespoons lower-sodium marinara sauce

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from myrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. Bake rolls according to package directions. Split rolls.

3. Remove casings from sausage. Combine sausage, chopped basil, and next 5 ingredients (through ground sirloin) in a medium bowl. Divide beef mixture into 6 equal portions with moist hands, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Press thumb in center of each patty, leaving a nickel-sized indentation.

4. Place patties on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes. Turn patties over; grill 2 minutes. Sprinkle cheese evenly over patties, and grill 6 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes.

5. Place 1 basil leaf on bottom half of each roll; top each with 1 patty, 1 tablespoon marinara sauce, and roll top.