Roasted Red Pepper and Chicken Burger

Pairs well with:

Pinot Grigio

You won’t need a bouquet of flowers when you share our Pinot Grigio. This crisp wine with floral aromas is a wonderful way to make an entrance.

Burgers at our cottage during the summer for the past several years we have started a tradition.Once a week I make a different burger and we get together and enjoy them with some Sutter Home wine and beer. It has become such a hit that I’ve thought about charging for it but being as all the neighbors now kick in and pay for all the ingredients and I enjoy doing it so much that I left it as a tradition. Our local butcher has been kind enough, because we buy everything through him to grind several of our ingredients together because our tradition has grown and at times I find myself having to make 20 to 30 pounds at a time. So for the purpose of this competition I have down sized the recipe to what I think is a manageable size (I now have over 35 burger recipes)

Ingredients:

Pesto Mayonnaise:

2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped pine nuts

2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled

3 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

4 cups Fresh Basil leaves

½ Cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

4 cups Mayo

Grilled Red Bell Peppers:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and pressed

3 medium red bell peppers

Chicken Patties:

3lbs.Freshly ground chicken (1/2 breast and 1/2 thigh meat)

2/3 lb. Crumbled Feta Cheese

½ lb. drained weight, Roasted red peppers in oil

2 tablespoons Delallo chopped garlic

2 tablespoons Minor’s roasted red pepper flavor concentrate

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Vegetable oil for brushing on the grill rack

¼ stick of butter softened

6 Ciabatta buns

Instructions:

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

To make the Pesto Mayonnaise, combine the pine nuts and garlic in a food processor; process until minced. Add oil, process 15 sec. Add basil, cheese salt and pepper; process until finely minced. Transfer into medium bowl, fold in mayo. Cover and set aside. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use.

To make red peppers, Mix olive oil and garlic into a small bowl. Cut each pepper into 1″ slices. Remove seeds, core and pith. Brush each of the pepper slices with olive oil mixture; cover and set aside for later.

To make the chicken patties, combine chicken, feta cheese, roasted red peppers, garlic, red pepper concentrate, pepper and salt transfer to a large mixing bowl; hand mix well. Form into 6 patties on a baking sheet, cover and refrigerate until ready to grill.

Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and cook 5-7 minutes on each side. Grill the red peppers until tender, about 4 minutes on each side. During the last few minutes of cooking. butter the inner sides of the Ciabatta bun, placing buttered side down and grill until golden brown.

To assemble the burgers, spread a generous amount of the pesto mayo onto the top of the buns. On each bottom bun place a chicken patty, followed by 3-4 red pepper slices, add the top bun and serve. Enjoy!