Sofrito Good Puerto Rican Patties with Creamy Sofrito Sauce, Cheese and Caramelized Onions

Pairs well with:

Chenin Blanc

This wine is bursting with crisp, refreshing fruit flavors like apple, pear, and melon, making you want to swing your legs off a dock at sunset.

Ingredients:

Sofrito:
2 cubanelle peppers
3 ajices dulces peppers
2 Anaheim peppers
½ red pepper
1 medium yellow onion cut into large pieces
10 gloves of garlic
3 to 4 Roma tomatoes
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Creamy Sofrito Sauce:
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sofrito

Patties:
1 pound ground chuck
1 pound ground sirloin
2 to 4 tablespoons Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce
¾ cup sofrito
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Fresh cracked pepper

Caramelized onions
2 tablespoons Colavita brand olive oil
2 large Spanish onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons canola oil, for brushing the grill rack

6 slices (1/4 inch thick) Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella
6 hamburger buns
½ cup coarsely chopped, Spanish olives, pitted
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Instructions:

Directions
Sofrito: Core, seed and cut all peppers into large pieces. Add the onions, peppers and garlic to the base of a food processor. Pulse the food processor until the ingredients are coarsely chopped. Core, seed and coarsely chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and half of the bunch of cilantro. Process until smooth. Scrape down the sizes of the bowl as needed. Store in a glass container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Make the sofirto ahead of time if needed. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Creamy Sofrito Sauce: To prepare the burger sauce, add the sour cream, lime juice and sofrito into a small mixing bowl. Mix until ingredients are well blended and refrigerate until ready to assemble the burgers. This can be prepared several hours ahead of time.

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover or preheat a gas grill to medium-high heat.

Patties: Combine the ground chuck, ground sirloin, chipotle pepper sauce, sofrito, cumin, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl and mix together. Keep in mind that the more chipotle pepper one adds to the meat the hotter the burger will become. Use as little mixing necessary to combine the ingredients. Shape the beef mixture into 6 patties in uniform size and to accommodate the size of the buns. Place the patties on a plate and cover with plastic wrap until ready to cook.

After the grill has reached the desired temperature, preheat a 10 inch cast iron skillet or other grill proof skillet to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and then the onions. Sprinkle the onions with the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté for 10 to 15 minutes or until the onions are soft and caramelized. Set aside until ready to assemble the burgers.

Allow the grill to return to medium high heat, and then brush the grill rack with the oil. Add the patties to the grill, cover grill and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Flip the patties after the 5 to 7 minutes and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cheese and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes or until desired doneness. Place the patties on a serving platter and cover the burgers with aluminum foil. Place the buns, cut side down on the grill and toast until the buns are light brown. Remove buns and begin to assemble the burgers.

Place the buns toasted side up and spread about 1 tablespoon of the creamy sofrito sauce to each side of the toasted bun. Place a burger on the bottom side of each bun. Evenly top each burger with the caramelized onions, olives, cilantro and top other side of bun. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 burgers.