Middle Eastern-Inspired Turkey Burgers: two ways.
Middle Eastern-Inspired Turkey Burger Bowl - served on night #1
Middle Eastern-Inspired Turkey Burgers - served on night #2
Inspiration:
Turkey burgers are an athlete favorite - focused around lean protein, this is always a nutrient-dense meal that can be dressed up or dressed down. With the help of my Sister (Hello, Bar Norman) we came up with this fun twist on the traditional turkey burger: loaded with a variety of spices & fresh veggies to boot.
As someone that loves a good, tasty, healthy meal in a short amount of time, I doubled this recipe and came up with two great recipes. The result? The BOGO (buy one get one) meal when you finish a big day of training & are staring at the fridge wondering, “what to eat”, you have dinner #2 ready within a few minutes.
Ingredients:
Burgers:
serves 4
1 lb ground turkey, dark meat preferable or a combination of light and dark meats
½ cup/4 oz. feta cheese, in brine preferable
½ cup yellow onion, grated or very finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated or very finely chopped
½ cup flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 ¼ teaspoon kosher sea salt
Black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
Cucumber-Yogurt Spread:
½ cup greek yogurt
¼ English cucumber, seeded and grated
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
¼ teaspoon kosher sea salt
Black pepper
Served in a bowl:
Mixed greens & spinach
Tomatoes
Feta
Kalamata olives
Hummus
Red onion
Cucumbers
Bell peppers - roasted or fresh
Lemon + olive oil
Served on a bun:
Buns
Spinach (or lettuce)
Jarred roasted red peppers
Instructions:
Combine all burger ingredients other than olive oil in a medium bowl, and mix gently with your hands to combine. Season with a few cracks of black pepper. Do not overmix otherwise you’ll end up with tough burgers. Set aside.
Combine all cucumber-yogurt spread ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine. Taste for seasoning. The spread should be fairly thick and tart.
Heat a cast iron skillet, or any heavy-bottomed skillet, over medium-high heat until the pan feels hot when you hold your hand over it for 10 seconds. While the pan is heating, divide the burger mix into four equal balls and gently pat between your hands to make bun-sized patties. Do not overwork the turkey or your burgers will be tough. Add the olive oil to the pan and cook the patties for about 4 minutes per side. You’re looking for a nice crust, but the burgers should give a little to the touch. As soon as they’re done, take them off the heat. OR you can prepare you burgers on a grill - cooking over medium-high heat for about 5’ a side.
Served in a bowl:
Place greens in a flat-bottom bowl or on a larger plate. Surround with toppings of your choice. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Place cooked burger in the middle & top with cucumber-yogurt. Enjoy!
Served on a bun:
Toast the buns if you’d like a little crunch. Spread the cucumber-yogurt on both sides of each bun, top with a burger, roasted pepper, and spinach.
A few notes:
Turkey burgers can be dry if not prepared correctly. Adding in feta, grated onion, using some dark meat & not over-mixing your burgers all help make this a great turkey burger.
Did you know pre-crumbled cheese has additional “anti-caking” agents added to it? Read your labels and if you can, fresh is best!
I cooked x2 burgers on night 1, stored the other x2 wrapped in the fridge and prepared them on night 2 and they were perfect (if not better!).
Looking for a great side-dish? Check out my healthy spiced sweet potato “fries”.
Feel free to get creative on the contents / toppings of your bowl, these are merely to serve as inspiration.