Zucchini Burger with Sriracha & Pancetta

Name: Zucchini Burger with Sriracha & Pancetta
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 burgers
Ingredients: 2 medium zucchinis; salt ((to taste)); 1/2 diced red bell pepper; 2 tsp Sriracha sauce; 1 tsp no salt seasoning; cracked black pepper ((to taste)); 1 egg; 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs; Slices of pancetta ((1-2 per burger)); Garnish:; Arugula (tomato and cheese)

July 22, 2015 by Homemade & Yummy 61 Comments

Zucchini Burger with Sriracha & Pancetta is a great way to use of those garden fresh zucchini. Heat from the Sriracha and flavour from the pancetta combines perfectly. Add some cheese and toppings and you have a gourmet burger.

I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for new ways to use up all those zucchinis that keep coming my way. Muffins, breads, cakes….noodles, grilled, soup….salads and smoothies….so many ways to use this wonderful veggie. Tada…my new Zucchini Burger with Sriracha & Pancetta is now in my collection!!

We love to BBQ….well let’s say I LOVE eating BBQ’d food…but I leave the actual cooking on the bbq to my wonderful hubby. Seriously I get everything ready and he does the cooking (and the cleaning)…even us foodies need a break sometime right….time to relax and have some wine while he does the work (but most of it was prepped by me)!! This arrangement works well in this house anyway.

So with my current pile of zucchinis waiting to be made into something wonderful, I decided burgers it would be, but they had to be jazzed up. We love spicy food so I figured Sriracha and pancetta would do the trick.

This is an easy burger to make. Grate the zucchini and place in a colander. Generously salt and let sit for about 15 minutes. The salt will draw some of the water out of the zucchini. Place zucchini a handful at a time into a dish towel and wring out the excess water. Place zucchini into a bowl. I used 2 medium zucchinis to make 4 burgers.

To the bowl add panko bread crumbs, cracked black pepper, no salt seasoning, diced red bell pepper, Sriracha sauce and a beaten egg. Mix well. Form into burgers. I placed each burger on a piece of wax paper to make it easier to place on the grill.

Now when it comes to grilling, using a grill pan is your best option since the burger can break apart and fall through the grates. Hubby heated his grill pan on high heat…and cooked the burgers about 5 minutes per side. He used 2 spatulas (one on either side of the burger) to make it easier to flip. They will fall apart easily.

After flipping the burgers….he added the pancetta to the pan and cooked that too!!

I topped the burgers with sliced tomato, arugula that was tossed in Tuscan Herb olive oil, and sliced Sicilian sheep cheese with peppercorns….see I told you we like spicy food!! The sides were a quick pickled crispy cucumber salad and homemade fries.

So next time you have a bunch of zucchini and don’t know what to do…give this Zucchini Burger with Sriracha & Pancetta a try…spice up your BBQ!!

See this recipe included in the FBC 12 More Sweet And Savoury Zucchini Recipes

My BEST Banana Cake EVER…would be the perfect dessert to finish the meal!!

Still have more zucchini to use up….Nutella Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins have a home for it!!