This weekend I ate waaay too much. It all started with Friday night dinner, to which none of my friends confirmed in time except for a couple, leaving me with that old question, “How much am I supposed to cook??” I had in mind an oven-roasted chicken with mushrooms and potatoes, but if I made that and only two showed up then who was supposed to eat all the rest? And so baby burgers came to the rescue! If I made too much (which indeed I did) I could just store the meat for the day after. Which brings me back to why I ate so much this weekend. Yeah, of course I had leftover burgers for lunch on Saturday! I know, two days in a row? But they’re just so cute and delicious that you would have done the same.

See? They’re too cute. Anyway, they’re actually rather easy to make, you just have to be organized with your timing. I served mine with small salad bowls and oven-baked french fries. (which I’m sure don’t qualify as french fries ’cause they’re not fried?). The result was platters with the small burgers, small salads, and also small servings of the fries, letting everyone have as much as they wanted. Don’t let the tiny cuteness fool you though, as is often the case with small food, you’ll son be more full than you expected! Read more for the recipe!

Baby burgers with caramelised onions
(Own recipe)

For the onions:
2 large red onions, in slices
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp. sugar
Salt and pepper
Dash of balsamic vinegar

For the burgers
2 1/2 cups prepared burger meat. (I make mine with a bit of chopped onion, parsley, salt and pepper)
12-14 miniature buns
1/3 cup cream cheese
2 tbsp roquefort cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded or chopped
Sesame seeds
French Lettuce for topping

Directions

Preheat you oven to either broil, if you have it, or 360 ªF if not.

In a large and shallow saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter on med-low until the butter begins to bubble slightly. Add your onions and coat them all in the oil, stirring with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat to low and let cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, turning every now and then. Add the sugar, and again stir well. Let them cook for another 15 minutes, turning them once the onions touching the pan brown slightly. The trick is to let them brown but not burn! After they are all soft, brown and tender (about 30-35 minutes since you started), deglaze the pan with a dash of balsamic vinegar, stirring with your wooden spoon as you do so. Season with salt and pepper, turn off heat and set aside.

While your onions cook, prepare the burger meat by patting them into rounds slightly bigger than your buns (they will shrink when you cook them). Set aside. Prepare the buns by cutting them in half and placing on the bottom parts about 2-3 tbsp cheddar cheese, depending on their size. For the top parts or lids, brush with water (very little water!) and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place them all in a baking sheet. Next, in a small bowl mix the cream cheese and Roquefort. This will go on the lid of the buns once they come out of the oven. When you’re ready to serve, heat on med 1 tbsp oil on a big pan, and when it’s shiny, place your burgers to cook. While they cook, place your buns in the oven. (If broiling, place on the lowest rack to keep the bread from burning). Flip your burgers. Once the cheese is melted and slightly browning, remove the buns from the oven and smear a bit of the cream cheese mixture on the top buns. Place a burger on each of the bottom parts, add 1-2 tbsp caramelised onions, a lettuce leaf, and cover with the top half of the bun. Arrange all the burgers on a platter and serve immediately.

Note: I served with an avocado, green beans and lettuce salad, and oven-baked french fries. (But those take forever to bake, so I recommend you skip those and use the regular kind, or crisps.)