Roasted Green Chile Burgers with Crunchy Spiced Pepitas

Mexican style sauce with a crunch

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 poblano peppers
3 anaheim peppers
2/3 cup chopped yellow onion
1 small jalapeno, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon adobo sauce
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup Pepitas
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
½ teaspoon salt

2 pounds ground chuck
1/4 cup Sutter Home Merlot
4 shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/3 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for brushing on the rack
6 whole wheat rolls
12 tablespoons Cotija cheese
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions:

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high heat. Coat the poblano and Anaheim peppers with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place the peppers directly over the hottest part of the grill, and cook until charred, about 5-7 minutes on each side. Place the charred peppers in a bowl, cover, and set aside. Meanwhile, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to a fire-proof pan and place over the heat. Add the chopped onion, jalapeno, and garlic and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the adobo sauce, vinegar, and honey and cook for another 10 minutes to reduce by half. Uncover the bowl with the roasted peppers, and peel the skin from each of the peppers. Remove the seeds and membranes from the roasted peppers and finely chop. Add the chopped peppers to the pan, and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper and set aside. Once cooled, puree with an immersion blender until smooth.
Place another fire-proof pan over the heat and add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add the pepitas to the pan, along with ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon cayenne, ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Combine all the ingredients and toast in the pan for about 5 – 7 minutes. Set aside.

To prepare the patties, add the ground chuck to a large bowl. Add the Merlot, chopped shallots, chopped garlic, cumin, coriander, Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/3 teaspoon pepper. Handling the meat as little as possible, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form into patties.

Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, turning once, for medium. Remove the burgers from the grill. Meanwhile, return the pan with the roasted chile sauce to the grill to warm through, about 5 minutes. During the last few minutes of cooking, place the rolls, cut side down, on the outer edges of the grill to toast lightly. Crumble 2 tablespoons of the cotija cheese on top of each patty, close the grill cover, and melt the cheese for 1-2 minutes. To assemble the burgers, place a patty on each roll bottom and pour 1/4 cup of the roasted chile sauce on top of each patty and top with a few leaves of cilantro. Top each patty with 2 tablespoons of the crunchy pepitas. Add the roll tops and serve.