Parmesan Crusted Chiken Burgers

I was watching Rachel Ray and this was the meal she cooked. It looked delicious, so I went to her website and printed it out. Let me just tell you...it was as good as it looked! Sorry my picture doesn't do it justice. I wasn't home so I had to use the camera on my phone. It was really simple to make as well, the most time consuming part was getting the fresh herbs prepared. Seriously though, a great dish, everyone LOVED it.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus some for drizzling
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
A generous handful of sweet basil, shredded or torn
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or ground veal
2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme for chicken or sage for veal
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 to 4 tablespoons sesame seeds, a handful
1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a couple of handfuls
A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped
1 ball or bundle of Burata or 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
A couple of generous handfuls of baby arugula
8 slider rolls, such as brioche dinner rolls (softer roll) or ciabatta rolls (super crusty rolls), split

As you can tell, she made sliders...I made burgers, so I just used toasted hamburger buns. Also I just used  parmesan cheese, and it still tasted great. And as you can see from the picture, I didn't use the arugala either.

Directions:
In a small pot with tight fitting lid heat EVOO, a couple of turns of the pot, over medium heat, add garlic and stir 2 minutes then add tomatoes and cover pot, raise heat a bit and cook tomatoes, shaking the pot occasionally, until tomatoes burst, 8-10 minutes. Mash up sauce with wooden spoon and season tomatoes with salt and pepper. Thicken, uncovered for 2-3 minutes, then stir in basil leaves and turn off heat.


Meanwhile, season chicken with thyme, salt and pepper. In a separate dish, combine breadcrumbs with sesame seeds and parm cheese, parsley. Form the patties and coat in breadcrumbs, gently pressing patties into crumbs to make them stick. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, shallow non-stick skillet or on a non-stick griddle plan over medium to medium-high heat. (we cooked ours on the George Forman grill) Cook patties to golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.
Place a spoonful of soft burata or ricotta on bottom bun. Drizzle cheese with a touch of EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Top soft cheese with a few leaves of arugula, then the patties, then some sauce and bun tops.