It's officially grilling season, and what better way to kick it off than with a big, juicy burger? In the spirit of summer, and because it's truly hotter than Hades out there, we're choosing a cool, creamy cheese to top off our burgers today, and we're gonna get a little caprazy (that's Caprese + crazy combined ) while we're at it!Move over tomatoes! There's a new Caprese kid in town, and she's even sweeter and juicier than you are. Say hello to one of my favorite fruits — peaches — and also say what's up to a super simple avocado pesto to slather on this burger baby too. It's time for some grillin and some chillin!
Make the avocado pesto and prep the peaches. To a medium bowl, add the avocado and mash until smooth, then add the basil pesto, lemon juice and zest and some salt and mix until homogeneous. Taste for seasoning and add more salt (or more pesto if you’d like) if you’d like. Cut the peaches around the pit, then twist to separate. Remove the pit, then cut into ⅓” slices and set aside.
Prep the meat. Divide the meat into 6, 3oz balls. Form each into a patty slightly larger than the buns you’re using, depressing the centers, so there’s a little more meat around the outsides (they’ll puff up in the center a bit when they cook). Season both sides of each patty with salt, then bring the peaches, meat and buns out to the grill.
Grill the peaches. To a grill over medium high heat, spray or rub the grates with oil to prevent sticking. Add the peach slices and grill for 2-3 minutes per side, rotating 45 degrees halfway through, until you’ve got solid grill marks, then flip and repeat. Remove and set aside.
Grill the burgers. Raise the heat to high, clean the grill grates and spray again with the oil. Add the burger patties and don’t touch ‘em! Let them chill for a minute or two, then carefully lift off the grates, rotate 45 degrees and continue cooking another minute or so. Flip and repeat, cooking until the doneness you like.* Remove and let rest for about 5 minutes while you toast the buns and assemble.
Toast the buns and assemble. Clean the grill grates and spray again, then add your burger buns, cut side down, and grill until toasted and a little charred. Assemble the burgers by dividing the avocado pesto between all 12 bun halves, then top each bottom bun with a burger, a couple slices of grilled peach, a burrata half, a teaspoon drizz of balsamic glaze and some flaky salt, and the top bun. Serve immediately!
Notes
I like a medium rare/medium burger, so I like to cook till the internal temp reaches about 125°F (130° is medium rare, but there will be some carry-over cooking when they’re resting). I highly recommend getting a meat thermometer if you don’t have one already. They are cheap and are SO great for recipes like this! Here’s the one I have – it’s less than $15 and works better than a lot of others I’ve tried.
Nutrition is calculated with Whole Foods basil pesto.
I'm a big eater, a huge fan of pasta (and mac n cheese), and I'm on a mission to prove that indulgence and balance can exist well together without silly restrictions or dieting. Life's too short to eat bad food!
