Ok, so the North Pole isn’t a country, but a good friend requested that I create something to celebrate the Christmas season so consider this my holiday gift for you. There isn’t really a recipe, you can do the whole burger with simple store bought ingredients, and, on the insistence of my friend Cheryl, it is not made of venison (although I really wanted it to be, but I have a twisted sense of humor and she often has to rein me in – (yes, that was on purpose)).
This is a simple beef burger – salt the patty generously and cook it, melt fresh mozzarella on top. That green stuff under the burger is mayonnaise mixed with pesto (you can use store bought pesto or make your own). The optional green dots are just pesto. On top is a sun-dried tomato tampenade – I made mine with sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, capers and garlic – but there are good store bought options too. The “snowballs” are just enoki mushrooms dry pan roasted with a little lemon juice to give them more sharpness. I added a shaved radish and some clover sprouts just for aesthetics. We ate this with a top bun, I just didn’t photograph it that way, because this one is all about the presentation.
This is a fun holiday burger – easy to make and really pretty. It also tastes delicious – pesto and sundered tomatoes are a winning combination. Just make sure to generously salt your beef as the meat can get drowned by the other flavors if you don’t.
Life has been crazy and there haven’t been nearly enough burgers this year, but thank you all for continuing to visit, read and comment. Here’s hoping the 2015 brings tons more burgers, and lots of good food for everyone. Merry, happy, joyous everything to all!
©Copyright 2014 Linda Monach
