Caprese Burger with Mozzarella, Garden Tomatoes, and Pesto Mayonnaise

Ingredients

2 pounds ground chuck
¾ cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
½ large red onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup Sutter Home Merlot
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon pepper
Pesto Mayonnaise:
¾ cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
¼ cup prepared pesto
2 to 3 tablespoon vegetable oil for brushing the grill rack
Topping:
½ cup fresh basil leaves
6 slices fresh mozzarella
6 slices fresh tomatoes
12 slices garlic Texas Toast

Instructions

Directions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium high.

To make the burger patties, combine the ground chuck, sun dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, parsley, basil, Merlot, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix ingredients well but handle the meat as little as possible to avoid overworking the meat. Divide the meat into 6 equal portions and form into patties.

Combine mayonnaise and pesto sauce and set aside.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the burger patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once, 5 minutes on each side for medium. During the last few minutes of cooking, place the Texas Toast on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly on each side. During the last minute of cooking, top each burger patty with a slice of cheese.

To assemble each burger, spread the pesto mayonnaise on two slices of Texas Toast, place the patty on the bottom slice, add a few fresh basil leaves and a slice of fresh tomato, top with remaining slice of Texas Toast.

Makes 6 burgers.