Caprese Burgers

Hi today!

We've talked before about how simple and straight-forward can be SO delicious.  Recipes don't always need to be complex with a zillion steps to be completely decadent. 

Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil pesto.  Plus a patty and a bun.  *BAM*  Burger.

Truth be told, I didn't even MAKE the pesto for this burger.  I bought a jar of it and slathered it on.  Totally worth it.

Fresh mozzarella is the way to go.  I got a little over-excited and left the lid closed a little too long - because I wanted to cheese to be melty and gooey and not cold in the middle.

But still.  So gooey and cheesy.  

Next time though, I'll be slightly more conservative with the amount of time it's on the grill.

Next up are some oven roasted tomatoes.  Slow roasted at super-low heat for hours, the tomatoes end up being slightly candied and sweet.  

So beautiful.

 

I put pesto on the top bun too.  I absolutely felt like there needed to be a higher pesto to everything else ratio.

 

I think I'm in love.

 

Isn't that gorgeous?!  It's truthfully kind of sinful.  The tartness of the pesto complements the sweetness of the tomatoes and cheese - the juicy burger patty and the perfect hamburger bun rounds it all out to make an incredible hamburger.

 

My sister-in-law declared it her favorite of all time - she evens gets a kind of dreamy look in her eye when I mention it.  lol

 

Caprese Burgers - worth turning on the oven to roast tomatoes in the dead heat of summer.

 

-Heather

Caprese Burgers

 

1 batch hamburger patties

1 batch hamburger buns

2 pints of cherry tomatoes

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper

Fresh Mozzarella

Pesto (homemade or store-bought)

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise. Put the halved tomatoes in a bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread tomatoes on a cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
3. When the burger patties are in the last minute of cooking, top with a thick slice of mozzarella cheese, and finish cooking.
4. To assemble:  slather pesto on the bottom bun, top with burger patty, top with a handful of roasted tomatoes, slather pesto on top bun.  Enjoy.

Source:  The Brewer and the Baker