A burger so nice that last week, we had it twice. In a row. Seriously.

Fancy burgers have been a thing around here for a while (Exhibit A. And Exhibit B.) but this one is my new summer favorite.

Do you like figs? And caramelized onions? And wine? And burgers that you have to transfer inside to finish cooking because your grill was shooting flames from the gas line?

3 out of 4 ain’t bad. (And somewhere about an hour from here, my dad is shaking his head and muttering how this would never happen with charcoal.)

Our little fig tree pushed it’s first real crop this year. Add those to the figs we hopped the fence to pick from my friend Harmony’s not-so-little fig tree while she was out of town, and you get things like this.

And this.

But you’re here for this one, so let’s cut to the chase.

While you’re heating the grill (and hopefully yours doesn’t turn into the weapon that ours did), you caramelize some onions. And then you add figs, the wine or booze of your choice, a splash of balsamic vinegar and then you let it simmer away until the liquid is gone.

What you have left is a slightly sweetened concoction bursting with flavors that are kind of magical.

And by kind of, I mean completely. Pair that with a juicy burger and some goat cheese, and you have our new favorite burger. And I suspect, one of your new favorites.

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Burgers with Figs, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese

Figs, caramelized onions, and red wine (or Madeira) are cooked down into a flavorful, glazed topping perfect for summer and fig season.

Ingredients

• For the fig topping:
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small white or yellow onion
• 4-5 oz fresh figs, quartered
• 1/4 cup wine*
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of salt
• For the burgers
• 4 burger patties, made & grilled to your liking
• 4 buns
• Honey goat cheese, crumbled
• *Use whatever you have open; we've used a Malbec Rose and Madeira. The Madeira (my favorite) will make for a sweeter topping coated in a thicker glaze than a non-fortified wine.

Instructions

1. Cut the onion from pole-to-pole (root to stem end) and then cut each half into 1/4-inch thick slices.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add the onions.
3. Cover and stir ever 4-5 minutes, for 15 minutes.
4. The onions will be a nice amber color at this point - add the figs, wine, balsamic, and salt, stirring to mix.
5. Cover (if your lid doesn't have a way to steam to escape, leave slightly ajar), reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until there is no standing liquid remaining.
6. Top your burgers with a generous scoop of the fig-onion mixture and crumbled goat cheese (honey flavor is my favorite).

Notes

Yields: 4 servings

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 45 minutes