I eat a lot of tomatoes… How much is a lot? Well, that I guess is relative. I can easily go through 20 lbs of tomatoes a week by myself. There are so many varieties of tomatoes. Beefsteak, heirloom, cherry, roma… I don’t discriminate and love all varieties! My favorites though are those varieties that are meaty with low acid content.
One of my favorite ways of enjoying tomatoes are tomato burgers. For tomato burgers, you want a meaty beefsteak or heirloom tomato with low water content.
To create the “buns,” slice the tomato twice lengthwise. The bottom of the tomato, then becomes the top “bun” and the the flat piece is the bottom.
Next, you choose your “meat.” I have used portobello mushrooms, tofu, tempeh, bean burgers and mangoes.
Then you can add your fixings… onion, lettuce, sprouts, avocado, cucumber…
You can also add a sauce if you want such as hummus, ketchup, salsa, etc…
So far here is my favorite combination:
- large heirloom tomato
- 1 portobello mushroom
- homemade BBQ sauce
- caramelized onion
- avocado
- thinly sliced cucumbers
- handful of sprouts
To make the portobello mushroom:
slice 1/2 of a yellow onion into long strips and spread them out on a skillet. Lay a portobello mushroom on top of it.
In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup of orange juice, 1 T tomato paste, 1/2 t of chili powder and 1 clove of minced garlic. Pour it on top of the mushroom and onions.
Turn the stove on medium heat and cover the pan. Cook the mushroom until it is soft (about ten minutes), turning halfway through and keeping the lid on unless there is too much liquid. The sauce should be thick and have caramelized.
Lay the burger onto your bottom ‘bun,” next the the caramelized onions with the sauce, the toppings and the top tomato “bun.”
Enjoy!