Not so kickin’ jalapeno burger with fajita fixins

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

This rich red easily complements your homemade chicken dishes, red meats, game, and mildly seasoned pastas.

My brother recently moved to Arizona from Michigan. Talk about a culture shock!Him and his wife went from being huge lovers of mexican food to yearning for a good italian or chinese restaurant. When they came home to visit I got inspired to create a mexican dish in a more northwest form….the burger. So this really doesn’t reflect my local area, but that of my brother’s.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground sirloin
1 lb. ground round
2 jalapenos (seeded and minced)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tbsp. cilantro (minced)
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. lime juice
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
6 flour tortillas (burrito size)
6-8 oz. shredded montery jack cheese (pepper jack if you like it spicier)

Fajita Fixins
1/2 med. green bell pepper (cut into bite size strips)
1/2 med. red bell pepper (cut into bite size strips)
1/2 white onion (cut into bite size strips)
1 tbsp. butter
salt and pepper TT

olive oil (for grill)

Bean Spread
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup salsa (store bought or home-made)
salt and pepper – TT

Salsa Mayo
1/4 cup mayo
3-4 tbsp. salsa (store bought or home made)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine both kinds of ground beef, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, cumin, lime juice, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix well (preferably with hands-nothing beats the feel of ground meat in your fingers). Be careful not to handle the mixture too much or it will become tough when time to cook them.
2. Form meat mixture into six equal patties. If meat gets too warm, refrigerate for 10-15 mins to let firm up before grilling.
3. While the patties are chilling, light a gas grill and put on medium heat to let grill heat up.
4. While grill is pre-heating, make bean spread and salsa mayo as follows – Bean spread – combine the rinsed and drained black beans and salsa in food processor and puree until smooth. Salsa mayo – combine mayo and salsa in a small bowl, stir until combined. May be used as a drizzle or a spread depending on the consistency of the salsa used. Watery salsa will make it more of a drizzle where chunky salsa will make it spreadable.
5. Grease grill with a paper towl lightly dipped in olive oil. Place all six burgers on grill. Cover grill and cook for about 6-8 mins. Flip burgers and cook for another 6-8 mins (depending on desired doneness – medium to well). 6. While burgers are cooking, preheat a small skillet on the stove top (or grill if it has that option) combine the 1/2 green bell pepper, 1/2 red bell pepper, and 1/2 white onion in a small bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the tbsp. butter in the preheated pan and add the peppers and onions once the butter has melted slightly. Saute until tender. Keep on low to keep warm.
7. Just before removing burgers, place about 1-2 tbsp. of cheese on each burger. Close lid and cook just until cheese starts to melt (about 1min.). Remove burgers and place on a plate for the time being.
8. Once burgers are off grill, grill tortillas for a couple seconds on each side. This may have to be done in batches depending on how big the grill is.
9. As the tortillas come off, spread hall of the tortilla with the bean spread and then fold them in half. Spread more bean mixture on half of the folded tortilla. Place a patty on top of the bean mixture.
10. Top burger with some of the pepper/onion mixutre and drizzle or spread (depending on the consistency you get) the salsa mayo on the other half of the tortilla. Fold tortilla over burger. Continue with remaining burgers and tortillas and enjoy.