Burgers Rockefeller Siciliana

Pairs well with:

Merlot

Get cozy and get pouring. Our Merlot is the wine for long weekends and lengthy chats.

My inspiration for these burgers was oysters rockefeller and Sicilian flavors.I know these aren’t oysters, and it may seem a stretch, but you’ve got this great blend of flavorful sirloin and fatty beef chuck, along with yummy, flavor-packed sun-dried tomatoes, grilled to perfection. Why can’t I look at it as one big oyster but way better because it isn’t an oyster – it’s beef! Topping these with a modified “rockefeller” mixture made perfect sense. A little spinach, creamy mascarpone, and parmesan, ramped up with crushed red pepper, garden fresh sweet corn, fresh basil, and crispy, garlicky crouton crumbs, was genious on these burgers. With all that flavor and texture, tangy, lightly dressed fresh spinach and some garlic-toasted rolls is all that’s needed to round out the whole package on these. Oh, and a glass of sutter home merlot.

Ingredients:

1 lb. freshly ground beef sirloin
1 lb. freshly ground beef chuck
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup finely chopped Sun Dried Tomato strips in Oil with Italian herbs
1/4 cup oil from tomatoes
1 cup whole kernel supersweet small corn kernels (preferably fresh, but thawed if frozen)
2 tsp. roasted garlic
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, rolled between fingers to finely crush (optional ingredient)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil, plus leaves for garnish
1 cup packed finely chopped fresh spinach
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Colavita olive oil for grill
1/2 cup crushed garlic-butter croutons
3 tbsp. softened butter
1 clove fresh garlic, crushed
6 kaiser or Italian michette rolls, split
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup white balsamic vinaigrette

Instructions:

Heat grill to medium-high heat.

Crumble the sirloin and chuck into a wide bowl and sprinkle with salt, tomatoes and oil. Mix gently and form into 6 patties, making an indention in center.

Mix corn, roasted garlic, crushed red pepper (optional), chopped basil and spinach, mascarpone and parmesan. Divide into six mounds using a 1/2 cup measure, place on plate or wax paper and reserve.

Brush grill with oil and grill the burgers on one side, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Turn burgers over and place a mound of the corn spinach mixture on each, spreading lightly almost to edges. Top each with crushed croutons and press lightly.

Close grill lid and grill burgers another 4-5 minutes, or until medium or desired doneness. (topping will flatten considerably due to spinach wilting and cheese melting)

Mix butter and garlic and brush over cut sides of rolls. Grill last 3 minutes of cooking burgers.

Toss spinach with vinaigrette and divide among bottom halves of rolls. Top with a burger and close with top half of rolls.

Makes 6