Zesty Italian Burgers
Rich Zesty Italian Burgers layered with pancetta, smoked mozzarella, pesto, and grilled onions.
We Americans like our comfort food.
We are always trying to turn the unfamiliar into the familiar. You have to agree, this is better than the old tradition of shunning the unfamiliar altogether.
American fusion food is a great example of this new-found fascination.
Dishes such as Mexican pizza and Asian-style hot dogs are just the beginning of our efforts to bring world flavors into the main stream. You can hardly go out-to-eat without seeing menus with ingredients from all over the globe. What an exciting time in culinary history!
Italian food has made its way, full-force, into the heart of America.
Very few people here would ever think of it as an exotic style of cooking. Americans eat pizza, pasta, cured meats, and cheese in enormous amounts, probably only comparable to the eating habits of, let’s say…Italians!?
So I thought it would be fun to take the comforting flavors of Italy and layer them, like a warm fuzzy blanket, over the only thing that might be even more comforting. A hamburger.
Introducing Zesty Italian Burgers. A combinations of all my favorite Italian flavors in one meaty sandwich!
These Zesty Italian Burgers are piled with smoked mozzarella cheese, pesto, pancetta, grilled red onions, ripe tomato slices, arugula and tomato-butter on a ciabatta bun.
Zesty Italian Burgers are glorious dripping towers of international bliss. American style!
Zesty Italian Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 8 slices pancetta
- 4 ounces basil pesto (or make your own!)
- 1 large ball smoked mozzarella
- 1 red onion, cut into thin rounds
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- Baby arugula
- ripe tomato slices
- 4 ciabatta buns
Instructions
- Heat the grill to high. Divide the ground beef into 4 portions. Salt and pepper the patties. Layer each patty with a slice of pancetta on top and bottom. Press the pancetta into each patty.
- Cut the onion and mozzarella into rounds. Melt the butter and mix it with the tomato paste and anchovy paste. Cut the ciabatta buns and brush the insides with tomato-butter.
- Carefully brush the grill with oil or use non-stick grill spray. Grill the patties and onions at the same time. Grill the patties for 3-5 minutes per side and the onions for 1-2 minutes per side.
- Once you flip the burgers, lay the onion rounds over the top of each patty, followed by the mozzarella slices. The cheese will melt while the burgers finish cooking.
- Place the buns on the open grill and toast for 1 minute. Once the buns are toasted, slather them with pesto. Layer arugula leaves, tomato slices and a patty on each bun. Top and serve!
Notes
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
I usually don’t bother rating recipes but this one is special! I am low carb so I used one piece of low carb bread to grill with the tomato butter and top with the pesto. The flavor combination in this recipe makes an epic burger! Thanks for the recipe.
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This reminds me of a burger I had recently with some prosciutto and italian sausage ground and blended in the patty. So good! Love your recipe, flavors are so strong!
The pesto alone makes these burgers tasty but then you go and add so many other flavors. Delish!
Now that is one great burger! The pancetta must have added some wonderful flavors, and your tomato anchovy on that beautiful bread sounds so good, you could have probably just eaten the bread by itself!
thanks for coming up with this masterpiece!
How insanely delicious! This would be a huge hit in my house. Everything we love – on a burger!
What a fabuolous idea. You are so right. Italian food is so big.
Amazing the bun will contain so much. I'm lovin the idea of tomato butter.
Wow! This looks so great. I want to take a bite.
Best burger I've seen so far – honestly! Smoked mozzarella, pancetta, anchovy paste, arugula, red onion, pesto and SQUARE BUNS!!!
*THUD*
It is so true about the familiar and unfamiliar!
Very creative and original! I really want to make this. Thanks for sharing it.
This is one scrumptious Italiano burger! You went all out – just as the Italians do. I think there's at least three courses packed in that burger.
glad I found your picture perfect blog!
Love it!!! I've been craving a good burger and this one takes the cake. Something's going off the menu for next week and this is going on. If Connie wasn't playing bridge tonight and if I didn't have a meeting that starts in a few minutes and will last for about two hours I'd be heading to the grocery to get the ingredients right now :-) Kate @kateiscooking
I'm so glad hamburgers are your comfort food! And yay for ciabatta! It's way better than using hamburger buns which are kinda boring and don't hold up to a hearty burger :)
Sommer…you certainly know how to dress up a great looking and tasty burger ;o)
Your photo captures are splendid!
Ciao for now,
Claudia
Mmmmmmmmmmmm BURGER!