Sofrito Manchego Burger

Ingredients

3 yellow tomatoes, cored, 1 cut into chunks for the sofrito and 2 sliced into 6 slices and set aside for toppings

1/2 med yellow onion, roughly chopped

3/4 cup red bell pepper roughly chopped

3/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilanto

6 fresh garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seed

3/4 teaspoon ground Arbol Chili

3/4 teaspoon ground Coriander

3 teaspoons salt (1 teaspoon for sauce and 2 teaspoons for patties)

1 tablespoon Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil for brushing the grill rack

1 lb. ground sirloin

1 1/2 lbs. ground chuck

6 Ciabatta rolls, split

1/2 cup Manchego cheese, grated

1/3 cup coarsley chopped green pimento stuffed olives

 

Instructions

Place the 1 tomato cut in chunks, onion, bell pepper, cilanto, garlic, cumin seed, Arbol chili powder, coriander,salt and olive oil into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse at 5 second intervals until mixture is very finely chopped. Pour into a measuring cup. Measure 1/3 cup of the sofrito mixture and pour into a large bowl. Cover the sofrito in the measuring cup and set aside for later use. Add the remaining two teaspoons of salt to the sofrito in the large bowl and mix together well. Add the ground sirloin and ground chuck to the sofrito in the large bowl. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the patties to fit the rolls.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with the olive oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and cook, turning once, until done to preference, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium. During the last few minutes of cooking, place the rolls, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly. During the last minute of cooking, top each patty with equal amounts of the grated cheese.

To assemble the burgers, take the bottom roll and place a patty,tomato slice, a portion of the olives and generous portion of the reserved sofrito. Add the roll tops and serve.
Makes 6 burgers.