Picante Burgers with Avocado Corn Salsa & Pablano Pesto

Ingredients

Avocado & Corn Salsa:
2 ears of corn, shucked
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pit removed, diced medium
1 medium red onion, diced small
1 lime, squeezed and zested
¼ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
Pablano Pesto:
2 Pablano peppers, peeled and seeded
1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
¾ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ cup pine nuts
Patties:
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano, crushed
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ pounds ground chuck
½ pound ground pork ¼ cup
Sutter Home Burgundy Wine
½ cup Picάnte Sauce
Vegetable oil, for brushing the grill rack
6 slices Jalapèno Jack cheese
6 Kaiser rolls, split

Instructions

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high To make the avocado corn salsa, baste the corn with vegetable oil. Grill the corn until lightly browned (approx 6-9 min). Let cool. Cut corn from cob. Combine corn, avocado, red onion in a medium bowl. Wisk lime juice, zest, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, orange juice and cilantro in a small bowl. Pour over corn mixture and mix lightly. Refrigerate until serving. To make the Pablano pesto, grill the Pablano peppers until the skin is blistered and charred. Place in a brown paper bag. Let cool. Peel and deseed the pepper. In a blender, combine the pepper, basil, garlic and blend to a coarse puree. Add the cheese and blend. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin stream through the feed tube. Add the pine nuts and blend the mixture until smooth. Refrigerate until serving. To make the patties, combine chili powder, oregano, salt, paprika and cumin in a small bowl. Mix well. In a large bowl combine the ground chuck, ground pork, wine and Picάnte sauce. Sprinkle dry ingredients over meat mixture. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the rolls. Brush the grill rack with oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and grill until browned on the bottoms, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the patties and continue grilling until done to preference, about 5 minutes longer for medium. During the last few minutes of cooking, top each patty with a slice of cheese. Cover just until cheese melts. During the last minute of cooking, place the rolls, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly. To assemble the burgers, place a generous amount of the Pablano pesto over the cut sides of the rolls. On each roll bottom, place 2 tablespoons of the avocado and corn salsa. Place grilled patty on top of the avocado and corn salsa mixture. Add the roll top. Ready to serve.