Baking with Olivia and Caroline

Chicken Burgers with Garlic Scape Pesto

By Published On: August 1st, 2024

Garlic scape ingredients

10-12 garlic scapes cut into small pieces
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh basil leaves
Juice from a 1/2 of a lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt
Dash of pepper
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (add more if you find it too dry)

Directions for garlic scape pesto

Add garlic scapes, basil, and salt and pepper into a food processor. Pulse a few times to chop everything up. Slowly add in the olive oil and lemon juice. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the parmesan cheese and process until completely incorporated. Taste to see if you need to adjust salt or oil. Add the pine nuts and mix until smooth. Drizzle the top with a little more oil if desired.

Chicken burger ingredients

1 lb ground chicken
1/2 small onion finely chopped
2 tbs mayo
1tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tbs fresh chopped parsley
1 tbs fresh chopped oregano
1 tbs fresh chopped chives
1 large clove of garlic, minced
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Salt AND pepper to taste
You will also need sliced tomato and sliced mozzarella as toppers for the burgers.

Directions for patties

Preheat your outdoor grill for medium heat. Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl, and form into 5 patties. Place the patties on your lightly oiled and preheated grill. Cook for about 5-6 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

To assemble the burger

For best results, use brioche buns. We also lightly buttered the buns and toasted them. Place the burger on the lightly toasted bun, top with a slice of tomato, a slice of fresh mozzarella, and the pesto. The amount of pesto you choose to add to your burger is up to you. Keep in mind that it is very garlicky. Finish your burger off with a few fresh basil leaves.  

How it came about

My oldest daughter brought me a slew of garlic scapes and suggested that I make pesto with them, so I did. From there, the pesto landed on these easy chicken burgers!

It was so awesome to be able to walk outside and pick all the fresh herbs from my garden that I needed for this recipe. My herbs have never looked as good! I wish I could say that I also picked the tomatoes, but I don’t like them, so I don’t grow any. I have tried a few times to grow tomatoes for my kids, but unfortunately, I think they (the tomatoes, not my kids) knew I didn’t care for them, and therefore I was never successful at growing any. 

This month we’re giving you a twofer. Take the pesto recipe and keep it in your back pocket for when you happen to stumble across some garlic scapes. Hopefully you can happen upon some free pine nuts as well, them being the second most expensive nut in the world. In the meantime, just add them to your shopping cart and weep at checkout about the rising grocery bills. The second recipe is the chicken burger. If dinner is becoming both the only thing to look forward to and the most stressful thing to decide, let us decide for you! Switch up your rotation and add chicken burgers to the lineup. If you don’t want to make pesto, just buy some at the store, but it will never taste as good. If you’re pinching pennies and don’t want to take out a small loan to add pine nuts to your bill (just kidding), you can use basically any other nut or seed. Really. Sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds will do and in the mid price-range: walnuts, almonds, and pistachios are options as well. Just be sure to toast them to bring out a more earthy, nutty flavor. 

These burgers are a wonderful alternative to hamburgers. They come together quickly and taste like summer. Serve them up with some chips, french fries, our pasta salad from the July issue, or a nice tossed salad.

As always, enjoy! •

Olivia and Caroline are enthusiastic foodies and bakers who are constantly in the kitchen, as well as explorers who create their own adventures in our area – and did we mention they are mother and daughter? Follow Olivia on Instagram to see her many creations at @oliviawvalentine.