Build a better burger with this winning recipe

Try Suzanne Banfield’s Roman patty melt with pepper, onions and aioli

Video: Try this winning burger recipe

TODAY recipes

updated 9/28/2009 8:11:22 AM ET

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Suzanne Banfield, the winner of Sutter Home's Build a Better Burger contest, started entering cooking contests last summer and made it to the National Chicken Cook-Off. At her local Wegmans store, she won $1,000 for a Dole contest. She holds a M.S. in food chemistry from Rutgers University and has a Ph.D. in human and organizational development. Before retiring, she worked in IT doing strategic planning. Suzanne’s degree has helped her with cooking, because she is an “experimenter at heart.” She has fond memories of eating patty melts at Woolworth’s as a kid, so she started playing around with that idea and added Mediterranean flavors

Recipe: Roman patty melts with balsamic peppers and onions and sundried tomato aioli (on this page)

Recipe: Roman patty melts with balsamic peppers and onions and sundried tomato aioli

Suzanne Banfield, Basking Ridge, N.J.

Ingredients

For balsamic peppers and onions
2 tablespoons Colavita extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, halved and sliced thinly
1 large onion, halved and sliced thinly
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Colavita Balsamic Glace Original
For patties
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon ground fennel seed
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1/4 cup Sutter Home Zinfandel
1 teaspoon Tabasco Pepper Sauce
2 pounds ground beef chuck
For sundried tomato aioli
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 tablespoon oil from sundried tomatoes
1 clove garlic, crushed
For assembly
Vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill rack
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
12 center-cut slices Italian bread
1 bunch fresh basil
6 ounces Italian pecorino cheese, preferably Cacio de Roma, shredded

Preparation

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

To make the peppers and onions, heat the oil in a fireproof skillet. Add the bell pepper, onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 15 minutes. Add the glace and cook 5 minutes longer. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and keep warm.

To make the patties, combine the garlic, oregano, fennel, paprika, salt, pepper, and cheese in a large bowl. Add the wine, pepper sauce, and beef. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Form the mixture into 6 equal oval patties to fit the bread slices, cover, and refrigerate until ready to grill.

To make the aïoli, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until assembling the patty melts.

Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once, until done to preference, 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium. Butter both sides of the bread slices, place on the rack, and toast one side only until golden brown.

To assemble the patty melts, spread the toasted sides of the bread slices with the aïoli. Top 6 of the slices with equal portions of the peppers and onions, the patties, a few basil leaves, an equal portion of the cheese, and the remaining bread slices, aïoli sides down. Return the patty melts to the grill and cook, turning once, until the outside bread is toasted, about 1 minute per side. Serve immediately.

Suggested wine pairing: Zinfandel