Grilled Burgers With Mushroom and Onion Jam

Grilled Burgers with Mushroom and Onion Jam

A hearty burger packed with nutty, melty Grueyere, deeply browned mushrooms and onions simmered in a red wine reduction,

For the Onion-Mushroom Sauce

6 tbsp. LAND O LAKES® European Style butter, divided

1 small onion, sliced ¹⁄₈-inch thick, about 1 ³⁄₄ cups

Kosher salt

2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced ¹⁄₈-inch thick, about 1 cup

1 portabella mushroom, sliced ¹⁄₈-inch thick, about 2 cups

1 small shallot, minced

2 cups red wine

¹⁄₄ cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. heavy cream

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. brown sugar

For the Burgers

4 tbsp. LAND O LAKES® European Style butter, softened

4 burger buns

1 ¹⁄₂ lb. ground beef (80% lean)

Kosher salt

6 oz. Gruyere, cut into ¹⁄₈-inch slices

¹⁄₂ small head of radicchio, thinly sliced
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Instructions

For the Sauce: In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tbsp. of butter over medium-high. Add onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn light brown and very soft, about 7 minutes. Add 2 more tbsp. of butter and the mushrooms. Season with salt and cook, stirring frequently, until they turn tender and dark brown, about 3 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms and onions to a bowl and set aside. Add shallots to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften and become aromatic, about 1 ¹⁄₂ minutes. Add red wine, increase heat to high, and bring wine to a boil. Reduce wine to ¹⁄₂ cup, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits, about 15 minutes.

Add vinegar, heavy cream, sugar, and the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter, and continue to reduce mixture until it forms a thick sauce that clings to the back of a spoon and leaves a clean line when a finger is swiped across the back, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in onions and mushrooms, season with salt, and remove from heat to set aside.

For the Burgers: Heat a grill or a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high. Form meat into 4 patties slightly larger than the buns, press a slight indentation into the middle of each patty, and season heavily with salt.

Using a spatula or butter knife, spread softened butter evenly on the cut sides of the burger buns. Grill burgers, flipping them occasionally, until cooked to desired doneness, about 10 minutes for medium rare. Melt 1 to 2 slices of cheese on each burger, then set aside to a clean platter to rest.

Toast buns on the grill, cut-side-down, until they just turn golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Top with burgers, fat spoonfuls of onion-mushroom sauce, and radicchio.

A guide on new cookbooks on the shelf

Other than music, food is something we all love to talk about. Sensing that food leads to conversations and sharing of recipes and memories, here's an assortment of traditional and modern cuisines, with a bit of advice. Take a look.

1. Book: "The Married Man's Guide to Creative Cooking"; Author: Samar Halarnkar; Publisher: Westland; Pages: 216; Price: Rs.495

This book is not merely a collection of recipes, but one man's eccentric imaginative and passionate journey in a kitchen. The author adapts, innovates, stumbles and triumphs. He pores over family recipes, finds secrets from history, relishes his roadside searches for unique ingredients and then invents the rest.

The author grew up on a diet of trotters and bone marrow, began cooking early and at 15 recorded his first victory. Enjoy this grand cooking tale that swings between his childhood in the Deccan and an adulthood spent eating his way across India and the world.

2. Book: "Everyone Can Cook"; Author: Vikas Khanna; Publisher: Om Books; Pages: 128; Price: Rs. 595

This cookbook is an ode to those who took the first step towards preserving the goodness of nature in a can so that it can reach kitchens and tables across the world, even during emergencies and nurture appetites and souls.

In this book, the author has put together easy-to-cook recipes using a variety of canned ingredients in ways never seen before. It is an ideal guide not for those who wish to quickly put together a sumptuous meal but also for beginners who wish to experiment bravely in the kitchen.

3. Book: "Is Wheat Killing You?"; Author: Ishi Khosla; Publisher: Penguin; Pages: 294; Price: Rs.399

This complete guide to gluten-free living is based on scientifically established principles of healthy eating and includes essential facts about a balanced diet that are of interest to all. It has nearly 200 quick, easy-to-follow practical and delicious recipes - pan-Indian, Oriental and Continental.

Also, this book integrates gluten-free cooking with mainstream cooking so those who can't eat gluten can lead normal lives.

4. Book: "A Sense For Spice: Recipes and Stories from a Konkan Kitchen"; Author: Tara Deshpande Tennebaum; Publisher: Westland; Pages: 282; Price: Rs.495

This is a delightful tale of food and family across three generations, a rich tapestry of recipes and stories that takes the reader from the lush Konkan coast to metropolitan Mumbai.

As India modernises furiously, the author captures the fading away of life of the idiosyncratic Konkan diaspora, a complex of uniquely tolerant cultures with quirky and mysterious histories. The community and its food are brought to life through both her grandmothers' recorded recipes, some dating back to the 1800s and are adapted to suit modern kitchens.

An open introduction to Konkan cuisine, this cookbook reads like a story, filled with humour and affection, a perfect companion for a rainy night and decadent Sunday lunch with friends and family.