I’m so proud to be part of an amazing group of talented Jewish Bloggers for the 2nd annual “A Very Jewish Summer” week! Dena Siegel, from the blog Chai & Home, began the week-long collaboration last year, bringing leading Jewish bloggers together to celebrate Jewish life and style. Bloggers from Los Angeles, Connecticut, San Diego and Israel have been posting all week, and I’m happy to share their takes on Jewish summer living and lifestyle!
Click on the following links to get in on the Jewish summer fun!
Sunday: Summer Havdalah Candles on Design Megillah
Monday: Shabbat Picnic Lunch on Chai & Home
Tuesday: Craft Foam Succh Lanterns on Creative Jewish Mom
Wednesday: Freezer Cooking for the Grill on Happily Hectic
Thursday: Pulled Pesto Chicken Burger on Busy In Brooklyn (that’s me!)
Last year, I posted a portobello mushroom burger with sundried tomato aioli for A Very Jewish Summer Week, so I decided to stick with the portobello burger theme since it seems to be going well for me. The recipe won 2nd Place in a mushroom contest and I ended up cooking it on tv for Brooklyn’s News 12!
This year, I’m sharing my mouthwatering recipe for a Paleofied burger from my Paleo eBook! Every since I hopped on the Whole30 bandwagon, I can’t get enough of eating the Paleo way and I couldn’t think of a better recipe to share for A Very Jewish Summer Week! A grilled portobello bun filled with fire-roasted balsamic tomato jam and pulled pesto chicken evokes summer on all fronts – from the chargrilled bun, to the sweet and smoky seasonal tomato jam and the fresh flavors of summer basil smothered chicken. This burger is so full of flavor, you’ll never miss a carb-laden bun again!
Don’t you just want to reach into your screen and grab that burger? Hashtag #getinmytummy all the way! Well this is just a drop in the bucket compared to the 100+ original sugar-free (no sweeteners!), grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, legume-free and alcohol-free recipes inluded in my Paleo ebook! Click here for more info and how to order!
Pulled Pesto Chicken
1 cup shredded chicken (from 1 bone-in chicken breast)
2 tbsp pesto
1 tbsp mayo
1 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice (if needed, depending how lemony your pesto is)
salt and pepper, to taste
To make the chicken, drizzle 1 large chicken breast (skin on) with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for one hour. Remove the skin from the chicken and pull the chicken apart into shreds. Add to a bowl with remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Homemade Pesto
See this post for instructions on how to make pesto. I prefer to use a basil-pine nut pesto (without the cheese) in this recipe, but you can make whatever kind you wish.
Portobello Burger Buns
Heat up your grill pan until it’s nice and hot. Lightly clean the mushrooms and brush with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill for approximately 5 minutes per side or bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Fire-Roasted Balsamic Tomato Jam
2 pints grape tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
Add all the ingredients to a baking dish and broil on high for 10 minutes, until tomatoes burst open. Remove from the oven and squash the tomatoes with a fork to release the juices (be careful not to let the hot tomato juice splash on you). Return the tomatoes to the broiler for another 10 minutes, until tomatoes soften and the mixture thickens up. Remove from the oven and mash the tomatoes again into the sauce.
To assemble, place 1 portobello mushroom stem-side up and fill with pulled pesto chicken. Top with fire roasted tomato jam and another portobello mushroom cap (stem side down).
YUM!!
oops! printed out the basic recipe and then went to click the pesto recipe to go with it..cheddar pesto on a chicken burger? ….a bit of a kosher slip-up, eh? Thank G-d, I’m pretty good at ingredient substitution, so we’ll give it a go with the cheese! sure it will be yummy!
Hi Malka, sorry for the confusion! I wrote to use basil pesto and I linked to that recipe because it starts with a tutorial on how to make pesto (I didn’t intend for anyone to use the spinach walnut pesto in this recipe). Follow the guidelines in the tutorial to make a basil pesto and if course, leave out the cheese). Good luck!
awesome………can’t wait to try it, I’ve got some spinach that’s begging to go on my Shabbos table as pesto!
Love, love, love that tomato jam on the pesto ! YUM!!!
I am so excited to try the Portobello buns. I have wondered what to use instead of a regular bread bun. I sometimes use iceberg lettuce. But a Portobello grilled sounds wonderful.
Thanks Tammy! Yes, the portobello bun is a lot more satisfying than lettuce. I hope you like it!
This looks amazing! I cant wait to try the fire roasted tomato jam. I always buy too many tomatoes.
I’ve been dying to try a tomato jam recipe, and you went and combined it with two of my other favorite things: pesto and portobellos! Definitely giving this recipe a try – looks amazing.
Thanks Jordan! The tomato jam is good on everything! From chicken to fish to veggies – really!
That looks amazing! I love everything about this. So healthy and bursting with flavor
This all looks wonderful but I especially love the “bun” and am going to use portobellos for lots of sandwiches after seeing this. Thanks for this awesome idea.
I love the idea of portobello mushrooms as buns!! Thanks for the inspiration, looks great!
WOW! This recipe just looks fantastic. Can’t wait to try it after the 9 days. Great Job!
This sounds so amazing! I am going to make a variation on this idea for shabbat afternoon (no buns, served over greens as a cold salad
I like that idea!
I made a deconstructed version of this for shabbat lunch this week (served over spinach salad instead of in the bun). It was absolutely delicious, thanks Chanie!
I need this. I can give it no higher comment than that.
Easy recipe to follow. Great for family dinner
Thanks Bob!
How many servings does this make?
Hi Kristin, the chicken makes enough for about 3 burgers. You’ll have plenty of tomato jam, but you’ll want to put that on EVERYTHING!