Watermelon Cheeseburgers

July 23, 2011

in dessert, dinner, recipe, sandwich, vegetarian

Yes, you read that title right.

Ever since we read the Bittman article about vegetarian BBQ options, Abe and I have been intrigued by this idea.

Sounds bonkers, but think about it – watermelon IS delicious grilled – straight up, or with honey and ice cream for dessert. It tastes great with feta. And what ISN’T delicious with bread?!?

We cut the recipe in half to serve two; I acted as sous chef and helped myself to a few pieces while chopping:

No onion in the house, so we used this instead. Brush on some olive oil, and the powder will stick right to the fruity flesh.

Grill 5 minutes on each side

Melted Jarlsberg Lite on top

Of course, we needed a little nest for our “burgers” – luckily, I just received an outrageously generous delivery, courtesy of Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery:

This Canadian product is now available in the States! In Los Angeles, you can find them at Whole Foods.

I chose two slices of The Big 16

Abe had his on a Mack’s Flax Bagel

The watermelon verdict?

Definitely different. But we both definitely liked it! The fruit loses its juiciness, mellows out in sweetness, and takes on a new texture – almost like a roasted bell pepper…

…or a portobello mushroom?!? (The weirdest part about all of this was it actually SMELLED like portobello mushrooms!)

For dessert I dug into another recent sample – vegan chocolate chip cookies from reader, fellow actress, and now professional baker, Emily. Her online Etsy store will ship anywhere in the U.S., but if you live in Los Angeles you can pick your order up or have it delivered!

I gave half the bag to Jasmin and Mariann yesterday, but saved a few for our own hen house:

With frozen fruit and my daily cocoa:

They’re very reminiscent of Soft Batch or Entenmann’s cookies, except 100% cruelty free! Plus 10% of all sales goes to Invisible Children.

Right before bed I noshed on an apple, but I was too lazy to snap a photo. Blame it on the watermelon’s psychedelic shroom powers.

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Tagged as: bread, cheese, cookies, watermelon

{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }

1 M's blackboard July 23, 2011 at 7:17 am

thinking of the taste, Salt and Sugar mixed together … Naaah can’t imagine myself eating this burger!

2 Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) July 23, 2011 at 7:30 am

HHMMM grilled watermelon. Interesting. I’ve never done that. I’m into smoking vegetables lately. I want to smoke some peaches. I bet that would be so good.

3 twobooswhoeat July 23, 2011 at 7:30 am

I love watermelon in salads with feta so I can totally see trying this out. YUM!

4 Christina A. July 23, 2011 at 7:38 am

The grilled watermelon….strange! I might have to try that one day just to say I did!

5 Sara K July 23, 2011 at 7:45 am

Wow I’ve never had grilled watermelon- i can’t imagine it’s post-grilling texture since it is mostly water…interesting

6 VeggieGirl July 23, 2011 at 7:45 am

SUCH an intriguing way to eat watermelon!

7 Simply Life July 23, 2011 at 7:51 am

Oh what a fun idea – and wow, what a delivery!

8 Erica July 23, 2011 at 8:00 am

This is such a fun idea! I’ve had a watermelon and feta salad and must agree that cheese and watermelon go strangely well together! I totally want to try this.

9 chinmayie @ love food eat July 23, 2011 at 8:17 am

That sounds truly amazing!! Never thought of grilling my watermelon!

10 Sonia @ Master of Her Romaine July 23, 2011 at 9:03 am

ever since you posted the link to this recipe on FB I’ve been waiting to see it here! It looks amazing- and I love Jarlsberg…mmm!

11 Cindy July 23, 2011 at 9:07 am

I’ve had grilled watermelon and love it, but this is taking it to a whole other level. Crrraazzzzyy! Like stoner cooks a meal. Yummy!

12 Lindsey @ Why Just Eat July 23, 2011 at 9:48 am

That has got to be one of the strangest recipes I’ve ever seen. I’m tempted to try it. I just might do it. My husband will think I have completely lost my mind, though.

13 elise July 23, 2011 at 10:10 am

i couldnt find that bread ANYWHERE! i was looking for that brand specifically because i had it at kyles parents (basically vancouver) so i figured it was a lost cause and a canada only product. hmmm…

14 livinglearningeating July 23, 2011 at 11:55 am

wow, that ACTUALLY looks delicious. I’ve never tried watermelon grilled or with cheese or on bread…and when I got the email notifying me of this post, I have to admit ‘ew’ was my first thought. But now I have to run out to Hannaford’s for cheese and watermelon STAT.

Also, that bread? Hmmm. It doesn’t look QUITE as amazing as German bread (I’m already SO excited – less than four weeks to yummy!) but it looks pretty darn good for this side of the atlantic

15 livinglearningeating July 23, 2011 at 11:56 am

Question: Your food pics always look AMAZING. Do you use a special camera, or is it just your standard $100 point-and-shoot + a heck of a lot of practice?

I want mine to look like yours!

16 Lynn at The Actors Diet July 23, 2011 at 2:32 pm: why, thank you! check my FAQ’s for camera info.

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17 Erika Lee Sears July 23, 2011 at 12:17 pm

Looks perfectly delicious! I also do grilled pineapple- so delicious.

18 vanillasugarblog July 23, 2011 at 1:15 pm

i do love that you explore new flavors in food. good for you.

19 Dione July 23, 2011 at 2:29 pm

What did you think of the Silver Hills bread? I live in Edmonton, Alberta, and Squirrley bread has been my bread of choice for years. I buy it at Costco, where you get two loaves for the price of one anywhere else.

20 Meister @ The Nervous Cook July 23, 2011 at 5:55 pm