Hamburguesas Chimichurri

My favorite meal is usually Sunday dinner. It gives me the chance to create something new and sometimes it’s something really complex with many ingredients and techniques, and other times it’s just a twist on something very simple, and easy to make. Sometime during the week, my wife said, “I wonder how chimichurri sauce on a burger would taste.”, and right then and there, this last Sunday’s dinner was born……Hamburguesas Chimichurri, or Chimichurri Burgers for you non-Spanish speaking types.

This is one of those dishes that’s a twist on something simple, and easy to make. In terms of ingredients, it’s pretty straight forward….burger patties and chimichurri sauce, but I added my own spin to it which consisted of sautéed onions and peppers, and fresh mozzarella. For the ingredients you will need:

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Grass-fed ground beef (preferably 80/20 fat to lean meat)
• 1 Onion
• 1 Red bell pepper
• 8 slices of fresh mozzarella (about an 1/8” thick)
• 1 cup chimichurri sauce
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt pepper to taste

Recipe:

• First, make the chimichurri sauce. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, mix well and set aside.
• 2 lbs of ground beef should yield 8 burger patties. I like using a scale to weigh out each patty, and press them using a burger patty press to get a nice uniform shape. Once the patties are made, lightly salt and pepper each side
• Slice the onions and peppers with a mandoline slicer set to 1/8”. If you don’t have a mondoline slicer, simply julienne the onions and peppers.
• Slice the fresh mozzarella

Now that you have all the ingredients mis en place (i.e. in there place), it’s time to start cooking, and this is one of those do everything at once kind of things, so it helps to do all the prep in advance.

• Heat up a grill to a medium-high heat
  • for medium-high heat, hold your hand about one inch over the grates, and you should only be able to hold your hand for about three seconds.
• Place a cast iron skillet (or griddle) on the grill, and allow to get hot, and lightly brush (not pour) with olive oil.
• Place burgers on the grill and cook to medium temperature (about 4 minutes each side)
• Right after placing the burgers on the grill, place onions and peppers in the cast iron skillet, spread evenly, AND DON’T TOUCH for at least 5 minutes……for these, think fajitas. You want to caramelize onions and peppers and get that nice charred exterior. After 5 minutes, stir and then let sit for another 4-5 minutes.
• Once the burgers are cooked to temperature, the onions and peppers should be ready as well. At this time, start placing the onions and peppers on top of each burger.
• Cover the onions and peppers with fresh mozzarella and allow to melt over the burgers
• Plate the burgers, two to a plate, and sauce over the mozzarella with the chimichurri sauce, and voila!! Hamburguesas Chimichurri