Babybel Cheeseburgers & Garlicky Parmesan Fries
At the beginning of the year, my friend Jan and I started a series we called Gatherings, a monthly post based on a time we had extra people around our table, or in our backyard – there have been birthday parties (OK, a few birthday parties) and a big pot of meatballs, pecan waffles with wine smoothies and music-inspired cocktails. I was in Toronto on Monday-Tuesday and we got together to work on a project and as we sat on the hotel room beds, laptops and books and room service calamari and wings spread across both, Jan, who is far more on the ball than I, pointed out that we were due for a post in a couple days. Apparently it’s the last week of August.
(People in Tofino gathering for their annual Lantern Festival at the botanical gardens 2 weeks ago.)
So yesterday, Jan wrote about cousin camp – an annual summer thing where she has her nieces and nephews over for an epic three-day sleepover – brilliant idea, don’t you think? And because I’m not in a position to host my own cousin camp this weekend, I thought I’d share some burgers we fed friends back in early June – an idea my own cousin (Steve!) shared with me. Or shared on Facebook and I saw it. Whatevs. They made us all very happy.
I thought these might come in handy if feeding people – or even just yourself – is a part of your long weekend plans. (If not, these might provide a reason to get a few pals together.) You take ground beef and shape a patty around a little wheel of Babybel cheese, then grill it. Brilliant, non? Babybel is such a smooth, creamy, melty cheese – it gets all gooey in the middle and lies in wait for you to release its ooze with your first bite. It’s an inside-out cheeseburger.
You could, of course, use whatever secret blend of ground meat, breadcrumbs and spices you love to make your burgers out of; my preferred method is to handle ground beef or bison as little as possible, sprinkling it with salt and pepper and that’s about it. Until those Babybels came along and made everything better. Shape the meat around the cheese, sealing it in. That’s about it.
Once the cheese is gooey in the middle, you know your burger is cooked through.
A delicious doneness test.
Want fries with that? How about fries doused in garlic and Parmesan? Done.
Happy long weekend everyone! See you in September.
Garlicky Parmesan Fries
AuthorJuliePreheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with half the oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a heavy, rimmed baking sheet. Roast the potatoes, turning occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until pale golden and soft.
Whisk the garlic into the remaining oil. Remove the fries from the oven, drizzle with the garlicky oil, sprinkle with Parmesan and gently toss on the sheet to coat.
Turn the heat up to 450°F and bake for another 10 minutes, until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with half the oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a heavy, rimmed baking sheet. Roast the potatoes, turning occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until pale golden and soft.
Whisk the garlic into the remaining oil. Remove the fries from the oven, drizzle with the garlicky oil, sprinkle with Parmesan and gently toss on the sheet to coat.
Turn the heat up to 450°F and bake for another 10 minutes, until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.
Genius! Babybel is probably a perfect cheese to do this with, I’ve never thought about using it, but it totally has the perfect ‘goo’ factor when heated up. Love it!
Me O my, this looks brilliant, and so easy to make as well 🙂 I love the idea of a little Babybel inside the patty, that’d make a nice surprise for sure!
Have a lovely weekend x
Great idea! Mini bries are available at Costco as well, so I might try this idea with that cheese too. Thanks, Julie (and Steve)!
Umm, one question: for the oven fries…do you start out with the temp at 450? ’cause later on it says to turn it UP to 450. Is this kind of like the regular fry method where you start out at a lower temp for the first fry and then higher temp for the last crisping?
Oops, good catch! changing it now. And mini brie?? Brilliant!
want! Want! Want! Want! I can’t even think in proper sentences because I just really want those burgers
Brilliant, oui!
These looks so good!
This sounds perfect for our block party! Will I impress the neighbours 😉
I made these burgers on Saturday night when we had friends over. They were a huge hit! Thanks for sharing such a brillant idea. They paired wonderfully with your recipe for Rosanne Cash’s potatoe salad. As usual, your posts continue to inspire me when things get boring in my kitchen. 🙂
OOO, nummm! We are living very close to the bone because we’ve just moved. These will be wonderful to perk up burgers!
Thank you, Julie 🙂