Tapenade-Filled Burgers

Tucked inside these juicy chuck burgers is a pocket of rich, salty tapenade. To experience the full range of flavors, build your burger with all the accompaniments—the bite of red onion and the sweet crunch of gherkin pickles are key.

Yield:

Serves 6

Ingredients

1. 2 1/4 lb lean ground beef chuck
2. 9 tablespoons black or green olive tapenade (sometimes labeled “olive paste”)
3. 3/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1 teaspoon black pepper
5. 6 grilled or toasted hamburger buns or kaiser rolls
6. .
7. ACCOMPANIMENTS: mayonnaise; coarse-grain mustard; thinly sliced red onion; thinly sliced sweet gherkin pickles; about 2 cups baby romaine lettuce

Directions

1. Divide beef into 6 portions. Divide 1 portion in half, then flatten 1 half into a 4-inch patty and form a 1/4-inch rim around patty. Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of tapenade onto patty within rim. Flatten remaining half into a 4-inch patty, then lay on top of tapenade-covered half and pinch edges together to seal. Pat side to form a straight-sided edge and transfer to a large tray. Make 5 more tapenade patties in same manner and transfer to tray, then refrigerate patties, covered, until ready to grill.
2. Prepare grill for cooking over direct heat with medium-hot charcoal (moderately high heat for gas); see “Grilling Procedure.”
3. Sprinkle patties on both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly oil grill rack, then grill patties (covered only if using a gas grill), turning over once, 3 minutes total for medium-rare. (Burgers will continue to cook slightly after being removed from grill.)
4. Spread mayonnaise and mustard on buns, then assemble burgers with onion, pickles, and romaine.

Notes

Patties can be assembled up to 8 hours ahead and chilled, covered.If you can’t grill outdoors, patties can be cooked on a lightly oiled well-seasoned large (2-burner) ridged grill pan over moderately high heat, turning over once, 4 minutes total for medium-rare.