Sesame-ginger pork patty with grilled pineapple

It's the second day of spring and it feels like summer. A perfect day to grill out and tonight's recipe was an excellent meal for such an occasion. I found the original recipe here.

Review: This was a really delicious meal that tasted light (aka healthy) and as if it should be made in the spring or summer. While the recipe calls for the pineapple and pork patty being put on a bed of lettuce, it also could be put on a sandwich and eaten like that (something I will try next time). As for the "lettuce," the recipe called for watercress, which is a lettuce-type product, but the grocery store I went to didn't have any so I just used romaine lettuce. You can use whatever you want though, and you might be able to find the watercress. It also called for using a certain amount of watercress and a certain amount of carrots but I just sprinkled it on the plate and didn't worry about the amounts.  Finally, the sauce you make would make a really good salad dressing or for use on any other oriental recipe you might make so I would almost double or triple the amounts (maybe not the scallions or the garlic but the rest sure), refrigerate it and then use it for later.

Recipe: Sesame-ginger pork patty with grilled pineapple

• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 scallions, chopped (scallions are more commonly known as green onions in case you didn't know)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I cheated and used ginger spice. Three teaspoons is one tablespoon)
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
• 1 pound ground pork (I used two pounds so I could make more burgers)
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (this will be found with the regular vinegar or in the international/oriental section of your grocery store)
• 4 pineapple rings, 1/4 inch thick
• 4 cups watercress (about 1 large bunch), tough stems removed (again, I used romaine because I couldn't find watercress)
• 1 cup shredded carrot

Combine the soy sauce, scallions (green onions), garlic, ginger and one teaspoon sesame oil in a small bowl. Place the pork in a medium bowl. Add half of the sauce mixture to the pork and gently combine without overmixing. Form into four patties (more if you get more pork), about 3/4 inch thick. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and the vinegar to the remaining sauce mixture and set aside.

Preheat the grill to medium-high then oil the grill rack*. Grill the burgers and during the last few minutes of cooking add the pineapple rings to the grill and cook until dark grill marks appear.

Combine the watercress and carrot in a large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the remaining sauce (I just put the lettuce-carrot mix on the plate and drizzled the remaining sauce on it). Put a pineapple ring on the lettuce and then a burger on top of that. Drizzle any remaining sauce on top of the burger.

*TIP: To oil a grill rack, oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. Do NOT use cooking spray on a hot grill.

STOVETOP VARIATION: If you do not want to grill, or do not know how to grill as some people do not, coat a nonstick pan, preferably cast-iron (or a grill pan), with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add burgers, reduce heat to medium and cook. Add the pineapple in the pan after the burgers are finished until slightly brown.