Savory Make-Ahead Chicken Patties

Make your life easier by investing a little time in making these freezable burger patties; they’ll serve you well when you’re crunched for time at lunch or dinner later on. Two key ingredients keep them moist and add deep umami richness: cooked mushrooms (basically a simplified duxelles) and pureed eggplant. Our microwave cooking method for the eggplant keeps prep easy and streamlined. Serve the patties on buns with your favorite fresh fixings, or go bunless and enjoy on or with a side salad or roasted vegetables.

Ingredients

Eggplant(s)

1 medium, untrimmed (about 1 pound)

Button mushrooms

12 oz, quartered

Garlic

2 medium clove(s), grated

Low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp

98% fat-free uncooked ground chicken breast

2 pound(s)

Table salt

1 tsp

Black pepper

1 tsp

Instructions

1. Pierce eggplant all over with a fork, about 15 times. Place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on High until collapsed and very tender when pierced with a knife, about 8 minutes. Place on a cutting board; carefully cut in half lengthwise, and cool for 5-10 minutes.
2. Place mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic to pan; cook until mushrooms are tender and most liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce; cook until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Spoon mixture into a large bowl.
3. Preheat broiler and line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil (or coat regular foil with cooking spray, or just coat pan with cooking spray).
4. Scoop out eggplant pulp and discard skin. Place eggplant pulp in food processor and process until pureed. Add to mushroom mixture in bowl. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
5. Add chicken, salt, and pepper to mushroom mixture. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions on prepared baking sheet (mixture will be very soft); shape each portion into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Broil patties 5 inches from heat for 10 minutes. Turn patties over and broil until instant-read thermometer inserted into side of patties registers 165°F, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Serving size: 1 patty

Notes

To freeze, cool patties completely and wrap each individually in plastic wrap. Place together in a freezer zip-close bag and freeze up to 2 months. To thaw and reheat, unwrap 1 patty and wrap loosely in a paper towel. Microwave on High for 1 minute. Turn patty over and microwave on High for 1 more minute or until thoroughly heated.