Olive Burgers
5
- Prep Time20 min
- Total Time30 min
- Makes4 burgers
Recipe by Chantal Braganza; produced by Sun Ngo; photography by Christie Vuong; food styling by Ashley Denton; prop styling by Nicole Billark.
The creamy, briny combo of olives and cream cheese is a popular spread in Southern sandwiches and Midwest burgers.
Olive Sauce
1 ¼ cups roughly chopped pitted green olives
½ 250-g pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, grated
1 ½ tsp Italian chili pepper spread, such as La Bomba (optional)
1 ¼ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp Maggi sauce
½ tsp paprika
Burgers
1 large egg
3 tbsp milk
1 ¼ tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Maggi sauce
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
500 g medium ground beef, room temperature (see tip)
To serve
4 thin slices Swiss cheese
4 brioche burger buns
Lettuce
Thinly sliced tomato
Thinly sliced red onion
Instructions
Preheat barbecue to medium-high.
Olive Sauce: Combine olives, cream cheese, mayo, garlic, chili pepper spread, 1 1/4 tsp Dijon, 1/2 tsp Maggi sauce and 1/2 tsp paprika in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. (This sauce can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.)
Burgers: Whisk egg with milk, 1 1/4 tsp Dijon, 1 tsp Maggi sauce, 1 tsp paprika, garlic powder and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle panko overtop, then set aside until fully soaked, 3 to 4 min. Add ground beef, then mix together with hands until fully incorporated and slightly fluffy, but not overworked. Shape into 4 burger patties with wet hands.
Oil grill. Barbecue burgers, lid closed, until cooked through, 5 to 6 min per side. (Or cook on a frying pan on stovetop.) Transfer to a plate. Lay a slice of Swiss cheese on each freshly cooked burger patty and allow residual heat to melt it.
Assembly: Generously spread olive sauce on top and bottom halves of buns and add patties and desired toppings (lettuce, tomato, red onion). Serve immediately.
Kitchen tip
- Let the cooking method determine what kind of beef to buy: lean ground beef for pan-fried burgers, and medium ground beef for the barbecue. (The latter ensures the meat stays juicy as some of the fat will drip through the grates.)
This recipe is part of a feature on summer sandwiches.
Chantal Braganza is a writer and editor living in Toronto. She is deputy editor, food at Chatelaine, a cookbook nerd, lover of vintage dish ware, and currently training for yoga teacher certification. Her first book, Story of Your Mother, is out with Strange Light Press.
