Some of y'all may recognize the make of this, and for good reason too! This is a recreation/reimagination of Wendys' last limited time "Bacon Ciabatta Burger". I had tried the fast food's item about a month ago, and enjoyed it, but felt that it could be made better with a few tweaks. Replacing the all-beef burger patty with a gyro-inspired patty, better quality asiago cheese, rosemary garlic aioli from scratch, tomato-bell pepper spread, and a whole grain ciabatta bun, this accomplished my goal to make it better!

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Medi Ciabatta Burger

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground dried rosemary (if fresh, couple sprigs, finely chopped)
• 1 tsp ground dried thyme
• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1/4 tsp salt

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• 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

• 1-2 red bell peppers, cut in half, deveined and seeded

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• 2 egg yolks

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

• 1 1/3 cup olive oil

• 4 tsp lemon juice

• 1 1/2 tsp ground dried rosemary (if fresh, couple sprigs, finely chopped)

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

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• spring greens

• 10 slices thick cut bacon

• 8 oz asiago cheese

• whole grain ciabatta (regular ciabatta is fine also, whole grain is just what I used)

Directions:
For Patties
1. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, rosemary, thyme, pepper and salt. Add in the two ground meats and mix well (Time to get messy! I really suggest mixing with your hands, it gets all the ingredients mixed in well together).
2.Using a scale, measure out 4oz balls of meat, it's a little smaller than the size of a tennis ball. You should end up with eight meat balls. Flatten out and shape the balls into ~1/2in thick discs with a slight indention in the middle (This will help the patty from shrinking when it cooks). Cover and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
3. Over a preheated grill or on your stovetop, cook the patties to your preferred level. When done, set aside on a plate to rest (letting the meat rest allows it to retain the juices)

For Tomato-Bell Spread
1. Taking the bell pepper halves and placing them on a small sheet pan, drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over them and place in a pre-heated broiler. Let the peppers roast unto the skin begins to blister and blacken in areas.
2. Removing the peppers from the oven, transfer them to a ziplock bag, close it up, and let sit for 5 minutes. Pull the peppers out and peel away the skin. Placing the peeled peppers in a food processor, pulse a few times to blend.
3. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add in the diced tomatoes and the blended peppers. Bring it to a simmer and let reduce for 5 minutes until it thickens to a loose spread. Turn off the stove and take off heat.

For Mayo
1. Combine the yolks and mustard in a bowl and whisk until mixed well.
2. Whisking constantly, slowly add the olive oil in thin streams until completely incorporated and the mayo is thick.
3. Whisk in the lemon juice, rosemary, and garlic until mixed well.

For Bacon
Cook to preferred level.

Construction:
1. Toasting the buns lightly, spread the mayo on the top bun, and spread on bottom bun
2. Place a burger patty on the bottom bun, and layer the asiago cheese on top of it
3. Place a few pieces of bacon over the cheese and top with spring greens
4. Cover with top bun.

Enjoy!

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