Patty Melts with an Italian Twist

These Patty Melts with an Italian twist have all deliciousness of a traditional Patty Melt, just a little twist.

Patty Melts with an Italian Twist

The story behind Patty Melts with an Italian Twist

A printer-friendly recipe card can be found at the bottom of this post

I love a good patty melt. The combination of a perfectly cooked burger, topped with sweet caramelized onions, and melted cheese on crisp rye bread is just so lovely.

No rye? Diversify!

Not having access to great rye bread here in northern California inspired these Patty Melts with an Italian Twist.  Unless I make my own, as I did in this recipe for A Quick No-Knead Crusty Rye Bread, I can’t find decent rye bread, so why fight city hall.  I decided to try to obtain the same wonderfulness with what I have readily available. So I put together Italian bread with some good Italian Fontina cheese along with the beautifully caramelized onions, to see how that worked out.

It worked out well.  Very well.

This is the beauty of cooking at home, being able to make things the same, yet different, using the same basic principles.  Feel free to make this patty melt with whatever cheese you love the best.  And bread.  You could even add some sautéed mushrooms…if you must 🙂

The secret to GREAT Caramelized Onions

The secret to great caramelized onions is to go low and slow. Start by heating 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter together in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When melted, add the sliced or chopped onions and stir well. Once the onions start to sizzle, reduce the heat to medium-low and slowly cook the onions to a deep brown, stirring occasionally (about 15 – 20 minutes). Keep the heat fairly low to keep the onions from burning. The slow cooking helps them develop a deep sweet flavor.

I served these sandwiches with Farro Salad but it would be equally good with Pasta Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes!

Yield: 4 servings

Patty Melts with an Italian Twist

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These Patty Melts with an Italian twist have all deliciousness of a traditional Patty Melt, just a little twist

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra-lean ground beef
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
• 8 slices Italian bread
• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced and caramelized*
• 4 ounces Fontina cheese
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Step 1

Form the beef into 4 oblong patties (sized to fit the bread slices); season with salt, pepper, and Italian Seasonings. Fry or broil to desired degree of doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-well.

Step 2

Place a patty on each of 4 slices of bread; divide the onions over each patty, then top with cheese slices. Close the sandwich. Lightly brush butter on the outside of the bread; sprinkle both sides with the Parmesan cheese.

Step 3

Heat a skillet over medium heat; lightly brush with olive oil; place the sandwich into the skillet and cook until nicely browned; flip and repeat with the other side.

Step 4

*To caramelize the onions, heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter together in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When melted, add the onions and stir well. Once the onions start to sizzle, reduce the heat to medium-low and slowly cook the onions to a deep brown, stirring occasionally (about 15 - 20 minutes). Keep the heat fairly low to keep the onions from burning. The slow cooking helps them develop a deep sweet flavor.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 512Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 694mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 2gProtein: 46g

Nutritional values may not be 100% accurate