Apple Butter-Pork Burger With Acorn Squash Purée
With fall just around the corner, we’re loving this Apple Butter-Pork Burger With Acorn Squash Purée recipe from our friends at Dairy Good. This recipe is sure to warm up you family on a chilly fall evening.
Apple Butter-Pork Burger With Acorn Squash Purée
Makes 6 servings.
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds reduced-fat ground pork (4% fat)
- 6 whole grain English muffins, toasted
- 2 tablespoons apple butter
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 cups fresh arugula
- 6 slices smoked gouda
- 1 acorn squash
- 1/2 cup Hiland Dairy 1% Milk or Hiland Dairy Fat Free Lactose Free Milk
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Halve and seed the squash and cut into large chunks. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and roast on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes, or until a fork comes clean out of the squash. In a mixing bowl, combine the pork, apple butter, sage and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix together and form into 6 equal patties. Once the squash has cooled enough to touch, spoon the meat from the skin. Place into a food processor with milk and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Blend until smooth.
Cook the burgers over a hot grill to desired doneness, flipping only once. Assemble the burgers: layer the arugula onto the bottom of the English muffins, place the burger on top, add the cheese slices and finish with a generous spread of the squash purée. Serve immediately and enjoy.
Tips and Tricks:
- Double the batch of purée and offer it as a creamy, lactose-friendly side to dinners throughout the week. Or, stir extra purée into a pot of hot pasta as a simple sauce.
- To make the purée more savory than sweet, add a couple teaspoons of ancho chili powder or one smoked chipotle pepper before you purée the acorn squash.
- Applesauce would also work with the burger, in place of the apple butter.
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