Did you enjoy watching the Olympics earlier this month?

I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t able to watch as much of the competition as I’d have liked. Being on the West Coast [for the first time] made watching Prime Time a little difficult as I saw everything on social media posted by my friends and family and NBC in the afternoon before it was finally broadcast out here.

And to add insult to injury, Prime Time happens to be bed time for my boys. I’d hit “record” on the DVR but by the time I sat back in front of the TV I was definitely falling asleep.

What does any of this have to do with the recipe I’m blogging about today?

For the Opening Ceremonies we were invited to an Olympics party. Everyone was to bring a dish representing a different country; the hosts were taking care of America.

I took on both the Dominican Republic and Poland – taking the opportunity to delve into my family’s heritage. (My dad is Dominican and my mom Polish.)

Unfortunately we had to back out the day of the event due to the hectic-ness that had been my husband’s work that week. I’d even had to take two attempts at my Polish dish (which I’ll share during the holidays)!

The dish representing the DR: Chimichurri Burgers! My dad thought I was insane when I told him what I was making. “The DR is not known for their burgers.” A Google search tends to disagree. The “chimi” is quite a popular street food burger.

The chimi, as it’s known, is also now quite popular in my house! As I do with all burgers now, 1/4 of the mixture was formed into meatballs for the boys. The remaining three patties were were devoured! Yes, I had a burger and a half myself. Yes, I want more.

Dominican Chimichurri Burgers

Ingredients for burgers:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 3 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, divided use
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tsp garlic powder, divided use
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3 C sliced cabbage
• 1 tomato, thickly sliced
• sliced red onion
• 4 hamburger buns, toasted
• 1/4 C ketchup
• 1/4 C mayonnaise

Steps:

1. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Divide mixture into 4 patties.
2. Grill burgers 4 minutes on each side, or to desired doneness.
3. Heat in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the cabbage with remaining soy sauce and garlic powder until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
4. Add olive oil to the same skillet and sear tomato slices and onion slices for a minute on each side.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup and mayonnaise with a dash of soy sauce.
6. Assemble burgers: Spread some of the ketchup mixture on the bottom hamburger buns. Top with a burger patty, tomato, onion, cabbage, and more ketchup mixture.

*This recipe is adapted from Erin at http://thecrumbycupcake.com/dominican-chimichurri-burger/*