Blue Cheese & Peach Burgers

I know, I know, this is a ridiculous post-Mazatlan post.  But after a week of seafood, spice and sangria, a beefy burger sounded quite bueno.  Hence, the peach & blue cheese burger was born.  Featuring our favorite recurring star, charred kale.  Es verdad.



I will reiterate, I had not tasted kale before 2012.  Pretty rediculous considering how avid a fan I now am.  But it has surpassed spinach as my favorite green.  Toss it raw on any sandwich for a lovely bit of greenery, or grill it up to add a pungent, savory flavor to any dish.  So wonderful, so versatile.  Give it a go!

Remember Leslie of the Leslie's black bean salsa?  Love her.   Even though she had never tried blue cheese until about a month ago.  Sad, but true!  I give her mad props though, for after sampling a grilled blue cheese baguette I brought into work one day, she loved it so much that she went out and bought a brick.  Sadly, she could only think to serve it on toast (having thus tried and loved) and did not know what to do with the remainder.  Therefore, when lovingly presented with her leftovers, I gladly accepted.  Blue cheese is always welcome in the Craig household.  And apparently, even more so after over-indulging in Mexican cuisine.

So beef....blue cheese....and my favorite green kale.  But what was missing?  Being summer, the obvious answer was a delicious fresh fruit to lend its bright, sweet freshness to the profile.  Let's look through the refrigerator...blueberries, no....raspberries, no....cherries, perhaps....peaches, absolutely.  We took a chance and scored.

Peaches are a great contrast to the darker beef and blue cheese in this dish.  We opted to lightly grill the peaches, but you could omit this step for a slightly cooler burger on very hot days.  Though the ingredients may seem a bit disparate, I assure you they are wonderful when combined.

Another great thing about this dish - only 2 minutes of the cooking is done indoors.  Therefore, when it's hot outside, you don't have to heat up the kitchen.  Always a good thing.

PS - my hubs is the best because he constantly surprises me with my very favorite flowers...the cheap ones.  What a keeper :)

Blue Cheese & Grilled Peach Burgers w/ Charred Kale (3-4 burgers)

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/4 c finely minced onion
• 1 tsp apricot jam
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4+ tsp pepper
• 1 c kale, roughly chopped
• 1 oz blue cheese
• 1 peach (we used only half for two large burgers)
• 3-4 buns
• additional apricot jam

Preheat your grill to medium-high.  Combine the beef, onions, 1 tsp apricot jam and 1 tsp worcestershire in a medium bowl.  Add 1/4 each freshly cracked salt and pepper (or to taste).  Mix together well.  Form beef into 3-4 patties with a slight divot in the center.  Cook on grill for 4-5 minutes per side until desired temperature is reached.

While patties are cooking, slice your peaches into medium-sized slices.  Then preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the kale and sauté for about a minute.  Toss and continue to cook, tossing every 30 seconds or so, until the kale begins to brown on the edges.  Cook for one more additional minute, then remove pan from heat.  Set aside, but leave kale in pan to finish crisping (trust me....great texture comes from this!).

In the last 2 minutes the burgers are cooking, top with blue cheese.  If you have firm peaches, add to the grill at this time and cook for 1 minute each side.  Toast buns at this time too, if desired.  To assemble, lay charred kale over bottom of the bun, then top with a patty and grilled peaches.  Spread the top bun but with additional apricot jam and serve.  Excellent with extra kale and salty corn on the cob.