I know it's been awhile since I've posted a new recipe and I'm sorry about that! It's been a busy summer, but I'm back and I've got a great new recipe for you! I've been trying to come up with a new chicken burger recipe, just to mix things up a little. I make a really flavorful pesto sauce so I thought why not put into ground chicken instead of pasta for a nice change? Here's what I did...
-1 lb ground chicken (you can use ground turkey if you can't find ground chicken. 1 lb makes 4 large burgers or 6 regular sized burgers)
-2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
-10 large fresh basil leaves
-1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted (toast the pine nuts in a dry saute pan, no oil, over medium low heat. Stir occasionally, toasting them until golden brown)
-1 medium lemon (zest the lemon, then juice half of the lemon for the pesto)
-2 large handfuls of shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (you know what I'm going to say...use the real stuff, please!!)
-black pepper, to taste
-1/2 chopped sun dried tomatoes (I recommend getting the sun-dried tomatoes that don't come in oil. For one thing, they are cheaper, plus you don't want the extra oil in your burgers. I found a package of sun-dried tomatoes in the produce section. Reconstitute the tomatoes in some hot water for 5 minutes. Drain the remaining water, then dice.)
-1 shallot, finely diced and sauteed in olive oil (they are near the other onions, and are small and a light purple color)
-a handful of plain breadcrumbs
-smoked mozzarella or smoked gouda
-1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil (just eyeball it)
-4 to 6 rolls of your choice, toasted under the broiler
In a small saute pan over medium heat, (use the same pan that you used to toast the pine nuts) saute the diced shallot in a little olive oil until they are softened and golden brown. Let cool. In a food processor or blender, add in the spinach, basil, toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice, and black pepper, pulsing until finely chopped. With the processor or blender running, slowly pour in the olive oil until it forms a thick sauce. If it comes out to thin, you can add more spinach and basil. You don't want to be able to pour it off of a spoon, it needs to be thicker in order to incorporate it into the ground chicken. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, pesto, breadcrumbs, sun-dried tomatoes, and shallots. Mix until just combined. Don't over mix or the burgers will be tough. (I have to warn you that when you mix this together, it will turn green and may seem unappetizing at this stage. Don't worry! When you cook it, it will turn golden brown and taste delicious!) Form into 4 or 6 patties about an inch thick. In a large saute pan or electric skillet over medium heat, cook the patties about 3-4 minutes on the first side. Flip the burger over to the second side and place the cheese on top to melt. Place a lid over the pan to melt the cheese and to ensure the chicken burgers are cooked through. Once the cheese has melted, place the burger on the bottom half of your roll. On the top half of the roll, spread some of the leftover pesto and sprinkle some of the remaining sun dried tomatoes if desired.
-1 lb ground chicken (you can use ground turkey if you can't find ground chicken. 1 lb makes 4 large burgers or 6 regular sized burgers)
-2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
-10 large fresh basil leaves
-1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted (toast the pine nuts in a dry saute pan, no oil, over medium low heat. Stir occasionally, toasting them until golden brown)
-1 medium lemon (zest the lemon, then juice half of the lemon for the pesto)
-2 large handfuls of shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (you know what I'm going to say...use the real stuff, please!!)
-black pepper, to taste
-1/2 chopped sun dried tomatoes (I recommend getting the sun-dried tomatoes that don't come in oil. For one thing, they are cheaper, plus you don't want the extra oil in your burgers. I found a package of sun-dried tomatoes in the produce section. Reconstitute the tomatoes in some hot water for 5 minutes. Drain the remaining water, then dice.)
-1 shallot, finely diced and sauteed in olive oil (they are near the other onions, and are small and a light purple color)
-a handful of plain breadcrumbs
-smoked mozzarella or smoked gouda
-1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil (just eyeball it)
-4 to 6 rolls of your choice, toasted under the broiler
In a small saute pan over medium heat, (use the same pan that you used to toast the pine nuts) saute the diced shallot in a little olive oil until they are softened and golden brown. Let cool. In a food processor or blender, add in the spinach, basil, toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice, and black pepper, pulsing until finely chopped. With the processor or blender running, slowly pour in the olive oil until it forms a thick sauce. If it comes out to thin, you can add more spinach and basil. You don't want to be able to pour it off of a spoon, it needs to be thicker in order to incorporate it into the ground chicken. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, pesto, breadcrumbs, sun-dried tomatoes, and shallots. Mix until just combined. Don't over mix or the burgers will be tough. (I have to warn you that when you mix this together, it will turn green and may seem unappetizing at this stage. Don't worry! When you cook it, it will turn golden brown and taste delicious!) Form into 4 or 6 patties about an inch thick. In a large saute pan or electric skillet over medium heat, cook the patties about 3-4 minutes on the first side. Flip the burger over to the second side and place the cheese on top to melt. Place a lid over the pan to melt the cheese and to ensure the chicken burgers are cooked through. Once the cheese has melted, place the burger on the bottom half of your roll. On the top half of the roll, spread some of the leftover pesto and sprinkle some of the remaining sun dried tomatoes if desired.
If you have extra pesto sauce, you can save it and make a nice pasta salad with it, along with the leftover sundried tomatoes.
