“Amburger” de’ tapenas

Pairs well with:

Chenin Blanc

This wine is bursting with crisp, refreshing fruit flavors like apple, pear, and melon, making you want to swing your legs off a dock at sunset.

Tapenas is the provencial word for capers, combined with figs and garlic, the perfect tapenade is born to accompany this lovely burger.”Amburger” is the french pronunciation!

Ingredients:

Patties:
2# ground chuck
2 t. grey salt
2 cloves garlic
1 t. freshly ground pepper
1 T grated onion
2 T Sutter Home Zinfadel

6 slices maple bacon

PICHOLINE OLIVE AND FIG TAPENADE

1 cup dried figs
1/2 cup pitted Picholine Olives
1/3 cup pitted calmata Olives
1/4 cup pitted green olives
2 cloves garlic
1 T grainy mustard
2 T capers
1 t. black pepper
1 t. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup Calavita olive oil

SPINACH WALNUT PESTO

2 cups spinach
1 cup basil
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
juice and zest of one lemon

2 T vegetable oil for brushing on the grill rack

6 piecees Camembert cheese

6 Brioche rolls

2 T sundried tomato oil for brushing on the rolls (from a jar of sundried tomatoes)

6 pieces Romaine lettuce

Instructions:

Preheat gas grill to medium high

To make patties, place the ground chuck in a bowl, combine the grey salt with the garlic to make a paste with your knife. Add the pepper, grate the onion and add, as well as the white zinfadel

Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the rolls.

Place the maple bacon on aluminm foil and cook until crisp. Cut each strip in 2 and wrap in foil to retain heat.

PICHOLINE OLIVE AND FIG TAPENADE

To make the tapenade, combine all the olives except 1/4 of the Picholine olives in the bowl of a food processor with the garlic,, mustard, capers, black pepper, and thyme. Slowly add the olive oil until a thick consistency. Add the remaining Picholine and pulse a few time leaving some larger pieces.

SPINACH WALNUT PESTO

To make the pesto, place a small skillet on the grill and lightly toast the walnuts. Combine the spinach, basil, grated parmesan, garlic, walnuts, red pepper flakes and juice and zest of the lemon. Combine until smooth, set aside.

Brush the preheated grill with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and grill until browned on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. During the final few minutes of cooking add the cheese to the burgers.

Brush the Brioche rolls with the sundried tomato oil and place cut side down on the grill rack.

To assemble the burgers, place a slice of romaine lettuce on the bottom bun, then a generous portion of the pesto. Then place the cheese topped burger. Top the burger with some of the tapenade. Place 2 half pieces of bacon crosswise on the top, and then the browned top roll.