Kitchen Remix

Charlotte Druckman · Kitchen Remix

Sadly, for many home cooks, outdoor grilling and the charred burgers it enables are an impossible dream. But I had a thought: could you simulate that smoky, blackened experience with scorch-skinned eggplant? Anyone who has prepared baba ghanoush, the Levantine dip made from that vegetable, knows how to singe its purple skin over a burner (or under a broiler). I took my flame darkened aubergine and mixed it into my ground beef. Then I buried cooling, salty feta in each patty. Derived from spicy Southeast Asian sambals, parsnip relish is an upgrade from ketchup; it can jazz up any burger, hot dog, or deli sandwich, and accompany meat or fish that has been grilled — or pan-seared or roasted. Because who needs a grill anyway?