I am all about pairing fabulous wine with classic, comfort
food meals. Somehow it ups the anty and the meal is just that much more
fabulous. Even though I don’t drink often, when I do, I savor the wine and make
it a special occasion.
So In this case, a grass-fed organic burger with
French red wine. This is a Perfect meal for when you want to treat yourself and
those you love. Mind you, I rarely eat meat so this meal is a once a year
splurge for me. I typically eat 80% pescetarian but once in a blue moon
I will crave red meat. Once I have it and I wont crave it for a year – just was
never fond of it. If I do choose to have it, I have to prepare the dish. It’s
just one of my things. Ha! Back to the
post…..
Chef Gabrielle Hamilton shared this recipe for a
cheeseburger last year in House Beautiful that far surpassed my expectations. The
secret . . . the parsley-shallot butter. Forget the ketchup, Dijon or any other
sauce you usually use. This recipe will serve as a reminder that top notch
flavor eliminates the need for excess ingredients.
Have a look at a version
below from beginning to end (which includes a delicious glass of Bandol,
France, red wine.)
Ingredients
Serves 4
2 cloves garlic
¾ cups peeled and roughly chopped shallots
2 cups picked, clean parsley leaves
3½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt (do not use fine iodized
salt)
1 pound unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room
temperature
1 pound excellent-quality ground chuck
½ pound excellent-quality ground lamb (if you don’t have
access to lamb, just use beef)
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces sharp white cheddar (sliced into 4 slices)
English muffins (preferably those made fresh at your local
bakery, but Thomas’ are good too) OR buttery brioche buns picked up at your
local bakery
Directions
1. In a food processor, chop the garlic and shallots finely.
Add parsley leaves and 1½ teaspoons salt, and also process to fine. Add butter
and process to smooth and emerald-green.
2. Run your hands under very cold water for a minute — this
will keep the meat from getting gummy — then gently combine the two meats.
Divide the meat into four equal portions (six ounces each), then gently form
into patties that are 1¼ inches thick and three inches in diameter. Season each
patty all over — top, bottom, and the circumference — with ½ teaspoon salt and
½ teaspoon black pepper. Touch the patties as tenderly and as little as
possible — the more you manhandle and compact the meat, the tougher it becomes.
3. Heat a cast-iron skillet on low heat for two minutes,
then increase the heat to medium-high, add 1 tablespoon oil, and place patties
in pan. Cover with a splatter screen, if you own one, to minimize the mess on
your stove top. Cook for seven minutes on one side, flip, and cook for five
more minutes. Do not turn, touch, press down on, or otherwise molest the
burgers while they are cooking. Place cheese on top and either place in a hot
oven or under the broiler until the cheese is just melted but not liquefied.
4. Split four of the English muffins by deeply pricking them
along the horizontal seam with the tines of a dinner fork. Toast well and
generously smear both the tops and the bottoms with the room-temperature
parsley-shallot butter, "wall to wall" so that
every bite will be seasoned and not just the center ones. (The remaining butter
can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to six weeks — it is
delicious on everything from toast to steak.) Place the burgers on the bottoms
and close with the buttered English muffin lids.
