Feta Burgers with Fresh Mint Chutney
The garden in shutting down quickly and the nights are getting cold, so I am on project “use everything up” before the first frost hits. I have vast quantities of fresh herbs in the garden, including four types of mint, and fresh mint chutney is a great alternative to tea if you have an excess of mint on hand. It works well with anything grilled, and I also like to serve it alongside fruit and cheese to add a fresh/tart flavor component. If you are not a fan of cilantro you could omit that and just add in extra mint in its place, but it does add a really nice balance to the chutney.
I mixed the feta directly into the burgers, but you could also “stuff” the burgers if you are ambitious. To do so, just mix in the salt and Aleppo pepper first, then divide the meat into eight thin patties, place feta on four of the patties, and then top with remaining patties and seal the edges. I used a creamy, goat’s milk feta, and it still held up well mixed directly into the burgers.
I grilled the burgers using a new, indoor grill from T-fal, called the OptiGrill. T-fal sent me a grill to see what I thought, as they are just rolling these out in the U.S. The grill has thickness sensors that tell you when things are rare, medium, or well done, and it also has a manual override to grill things like vegetables. I used the pre-programmed “burger” setting for this, and it worked well. The grill is also supposed to cook things directly from the freezer (there is a pre-programmed setting for that), and I haven’t tried that yet but plan to use it with a piece of frozen salmon. I will report back. I was impressed with how easy the grill is to clean up, as that has always been my “beef” (no pun intended) with most indoor grills.
I am making a large batch of tarragon pesto and I plan to freeze some of that, as well as a small batch with the last of the basil. Fresh herb pestos do freeze well but they darken in color, so keep that in mind if you plan to freeze a batch.
Note: I received a grill from T-fal with the understanding that I was under no obligation to discuss the product, as I will only discuss a product if I feel it is something worth sharing with readers. I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own, and genuine.
Feta Burgers with Fresh Mint Chutney
Ingredients
For the Chutney
- 3 cups fresh mint leaves
- 1½ cups fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup water
For the Burgers:
- 1¼ pounds grass-fed ground chuck
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or crushed red pepper)
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- To make the chutney, add all of the ingredients to the blender and blend until fairly smooth. You will need to stop and scrape down the sides a couple of times.
- For the burgers, mix the ground chuck with the salt and the Aleppo pepper until just combined. Gently mix in the feta. Form into four patties, and grill over medium-high heat until medium or medium rare.
- Serve the burgers drizzled with the chutney.
