Do You Know What They Call a Quarter Pounder With Cheese in France?

A Royale with Cheese! If you've ever seen the movie Pulp Fiction you'll know what I'm talking about here. This next post reminded me of a scene from this movie, with Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in "The Big Kahuna Burger" scene. Without going into a whole movie overview, there was a fictional burger joint called The Big Kahuna Burger, a hawaiian burger place. I decided to be adventurous and take my taste buds on a tropical vacation a la veggie burger style. Thus the Hula burger was born! It's not quite a recipe, but an idea of topping a veggie burger with a slice of grilled pineapple and BBQ sauce. The combination of sweet and smoky was a perfect balance, and offered something different than your run of the mill lettuce tomato ketchup topping. Here's what I did...

The Hula Burger
serves 1
1 Veggie burger patty (I use Meredith Farms brand)
1 slice of pineapple (I just used the canned variety)
BBQ sauce
Lettuce
Bread of choice (I used half a whole wheat wrap)


I started by heating a pan over medium-high heat. I would have used the outdoor grill (and suggest doing so!) for the real char-grilled flavor, but ran out of propane, so had to resort to the next best thing. If doing as I did in a pan, I suggest defrosting the patty a bit in the microwave to speed up the cooking process. Just toss it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so, just until it's not frozen. 


Heat the burger in the pan, cooking each side for about 2-3 minutes. When you flip the burger, add the slice of pineapple to the pan. Each side only takes about a minute or so. Once both are char-grilled to perfection, transfer to your bread of choice, and top with a good squirt of your favorite BBQ sauce and some crisp romaine lettuce. 


I served mine alongside a salad and my guilty pleasure of Creamy Parmesan Suddenly Salad, although I did make it healthier by replacing all but 2 T of the mayo with plain non-fat yogurt!

Aloha to the ordinary! Now where's my hula skirt and umbrella drink?!