Today is the first day of summer, and it just happens to be the hottest day of the year. Here in Taos, New Mexico, we are at 7000 feet and the temperature rarely even gets into the 90s. But after sitting in the sun for hours, my car's thermometer read 122 degrees. By the time I arrived home it had dropped to 100 degrees. The last thing I wanted to do was turn on the oven. The solution? Grilling hamburgers.



My husband loves BLTs; he also loves hamburgers. So...maybe we could combine the two and make BLHTs? (bacon, lettuce, hamburger & tomatoes). These four ingredients with mayo (or mustard if you are a rebel) on sliced French bread. Perfect! This idea plus five additional "burger" recipes helps welcome in summer 2016!



BLHTs
makes 1

2 slices cooked bacon
1 1/3 lb hamburger patty cooked medium rare
2 slices tomato
handful lettuce
mayonnaise or mustard
sea salt
black pepper
2 slices French bread, thickly cut (toasted or not)

Spread mayo (or mustard) on both slices of bread. Pile the lettuce on top of the mayo on one slice of bread. Top with the hamburger patty, bacon, and tomato. Season with salt & pepper. Top with remaining slice of bread and serve.




Spicy Chickpea Burgers With Cabbage Slaw
makes 6-8 burgers

1 cup garbanzo flour
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp minced garlic
pinch dried red pepper flakes
large pinch sea salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 cups water
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
extra virgin olive oil
whole wheat buns

Chipotle mayo add 1-2 tsp (depending on your heat tolerance) minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce to 1/2 cup mayonnaise.  I use a vegan substitute, Veganaise

Cabbage Slaw recipe (use any color cabbage, add 1 cup grated carrot and skip the nuts)

Combine garbanzo flour and next 6 ingredients in medium saucepan.  Add water and stir to remove lumps.  Set heat to medium and cook, frequently stirring, for 10-12 minutes or until mixture is very thick. Stir in fresh parsley. Turn off heat and cool in pot 5 minutes. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, create patties using 2 spoonfuls (or scoops) for each patty. Press down lightly to form each patty. Depending on the size of scoop you should get 6-8 patties.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in large skillet.  Fry patties until each side is golden brown (2-3 minutes per side).  

Drizzle olive oil over inside of each whole wheat bun.  Heat oven to broil setting. Place buns under the broiler until golden.  Remove from oven.  

To assemble burgers:  place one chickpea patty of the bottom of the bun.  Top with cabbage salad or, in season, a slice of heirloom tomato and lettuce.  Add a small dollop of chipotle mayo and top of the bun.   Serve.

Four additional recipes you may enjoy:

• elk burgers
• eggplant fritter burgers with sriracha chili mayo
• buffalo chicken sliders with bacon & celery