Recipe: Hamburger alla Piemontese

Silvia Altare thinks hamburgers and Barolo are a wonderful combination. According to her, the smoky, juicy grilled meat pairs incredibly well with a wine that has robust tannins and fresh acids. You can of course open any bottle of full-bodied red wine with this, but Silvia is right: burgers with Barolo is amazing. During lunch, bottles of Barolo from various vintages from the Veglio and Altare families were on the table, but later also those from neighbor Renato Corino, who came cycling over and joined the hamburger queue. There was also wine from Marta Alessandria, daughter of a winemaker from Monforte d’Alba, and Barolo from Alessandro’s new venture, nephew of Mauro Veglio.

Besides wines made from Nebbiolo, wines from the northern Rhône also pair well with burgers. Think of Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas or Saint-Joseph, all made from Syrah (a grape with fresh acidity, concentration and a healthy tannin structure).

Build a good fire so that after half an hour you have a thick layer of coals. You can get started right away with the peppers. Place your grill grate over the fire, it doesn’t matter how many flames are still there. Place the peppers with skin and all on the grate, turning until they’re charred black (see pages 46 and 72) and then set them aside to cool. Later you can simply wipe off the black skin.

Cut the white onions into thin rings. Put a good chunk of butter in the Dutch oven with a splash of olive oil and add the rosemary or thyme. Sauté the onions for 5 to 10 minutes until they’re brown and crispy. I had brought a collapsible tripod (which incidentally was confiscated as a prohibited weapon by Italian customs on the return journey) so I could hang the Dutch oven over the fire. When the first heat of the fire has died down and you see coals appearing, it’s time to put in the red onions. The onions we used had been picked by Elio Altare from his vegetable garden that morning. They were firm, purple-red in color.

Wrap the onions in groups of 2 or 3 in a double layer of aluminum foil, and place these packets at the edge of the coals, where the less intense heat will cook the onions in their mini-ovens. Place your steel or cast iron pan over the fire with a good chunk of butter in it and sear the porcini well, but make sure they stay juicy. Give the cut sides of the buns a few good grill marks on the grate and make sure all your ingredients are neatly arranged in bowls and dishes on your picnic blanket, because the hamburger moment is almost here.

Now for the burgers: place a mound of burger meat in the burger press, press together and place the burgers in a baking dish. Clean the grill grate with a steel brush and place all the hamburgers on it. Season with salt. The idea is that they’re crispy and roasted on the outside, but remain red and juicy on the inside.

Sprint to your blanket with the burgers and let everyone build their own burger with radicchio or a few lettuce leaves, a spoonful of sautéed onions, the grilled peppers, braised onions and porcini.