Heartland Retro Burger

Back in the day, we had “House Burgers” at least once a week and we always complained that they weren’t fast-food burgers.Shows you what we knew. Mom’s burgers were like mini-meatloafs full of peppers and onions and NEVER on a bun. Why buy buns when we still had perfectly good bread. Well, times, like my taste buds, have changed, but Mom definitely had the basics right. I’ve added some Corn Belt succotash and my own special sauce, but this is an “old school” burger that really hits the spot. Pass the white bread!

Ingredients:

House Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 sun-dried tomato halves (packed in oil), drained and minced
1 tablespoon capers, chopped
1 tablespoon grated shallot
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Succotash Relish:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen baby lima beans
1/4 cup basil, torn
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Burgers:
2 tablespoons Colavita olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
2 1/2 lbs. ground round
2 tablespoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup butter cracker crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
6 tablespoons ketchup
6 slices American cheese
12 slices good white bread

Instructions:

Make the House Dressing:
Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl and chill until ready to serve.

Make the Succotash Relish:
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium high grill heat. Add the onion and red bell pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes until the onion is lightly browned. Add the corn and lima beans and saute another 2 minutes. Stir in the basil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and reserve until ready to serve.

Make the Burgers:
Prepare a grill for direct heat cooking:

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high grill heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute for 6-8 minutes.

In a large bowl mix the ground round, Worcestershire sauce, cracker crumbs, eggs, salt, pepper and onion/bell pepper mixture. Shape into 6 large, square patties.

Grill patties over medium high heat about 5 minutes. Flip patties and top each patty with 1 tablespoon ketchup. Grill for 5 minutes or until desired doneness. Top each patty with a slice of cheese and allow the cheese to melt. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Quickly toast both sides of the bread slices over grill.

To assemble: Spread a thin layer of house dressing on each slice of bread. Top 6 slices of bread with grilled patties and 1/4 cup of succotash relish. Place remaining bread sauce side down over sandwiches.

Serves 6.