Tuscan Burgers

bluemoon downunder's Note:

This recipe was one of 8 favourite recipes by Valli Little on recipe cards which came with the current issue of the Australian cooking magazine 'delicious'.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 4.0 Tuscan ...

• 600 g beef mince or 19 ounces ground beef
• 100 g pancetta or 3 ounces pancetta , rind removed, chopped
• 1⁄3; cup basil pesto (90g/3oz)
• sea salt , to taste
• fresh ground black pepper , to taste
• 2 small red onions , thickly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 50 g rocket (11/2oz-2oz) or 50 g baby spinach leaves (11/2oz-2oz)
• 2 small tomatoes , thickly sliced
• ½ cup whole-egg mayonnaise
• 3 -4 bocconcini , sliced
• 4 italian bread rolls , split

Directions:

1. Place the beef, pancetta and 2 tablespoons of pesto in a processor; season with salt and pepper; pulse until just combined (do not over-process); form the mixture into 4 patties and chill while you cook the vegetables.
2. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3; heat a chargrill pan or cr barbecue over a medium heat; toss the onion in a little oil and grill for 1 minute on each side or until just cooked; place the onion in the oven to keep it warm; brush the tomatoes with a little oil and season them with salt and pepper , to taste; then grill the tomatoes for one minute on each side; place the tomatoes in the oven to keep them warm; mix the remaining pesto with the mayonnaise.
3. Brush both sides of the patties with oil; cook the patties on the chargrill for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are cooked through; top the patties with bocconcini and place them in the oven for 1 minutes or until the cheese melts.
4. Spread the bread-roll bases with some of the mayonnaise mixture; top with rocket, patties, onion and tomato; drizzle with the remaining mayonnaise mixture and top with the remaining bread-roll halves.

Reviews

[Dr. Jenny]

These burgers were really good and a nice departure from our normal way of making them. We used our stovetop grill pan, otherwise made no modifications to the recipe. Thanks for posting!

[loof]

Wow these are true gourmet burgers - just delicious! Just loved everything about these. Take the time to grill the veggies and make the basil-mayo - they make these burgers extra special. Thanks for posting this winner!

[Realtor by day, Chef by night]

We really enjoyed the unique flavors of these burgers. What a great combination. The pesto really adds something special to these. I switched out the pancetta for bacon. Thanks bluemoon! Made for PRMR game.