Saute:
1/2 – 3/4 large onion, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves
3-4 kale leaves, de-stemmed and chopped
Cool.
In a big bowl:
3 lbs ground turkey (mix of breast and dark meat)
Cooled sauteed veg
Big handful of Italian Parsley, chopped
Dill, chopped, about a 1/4 cup
1 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp sea salt
pepper to taste
a few drops liquid aminos (for umami)
crumbled feta (1/2 a cup; to taste)
kasha (see note below)
A tablespoon or two of your favorite olive oil
A tablespoon or two of water. Yes, it makes it splatter. Yes, it needs it.
Mix. Make a patty by first coating your hands in water (this keeps the meat mixture from sticking), cook the patty to see if you need more salt, pepper, herbs, liquid aminos, feta, olive oil, water. Adjust. Mix. Then cook ’em up! (Don’t overcook; use a thermometer.)
Serve with Tzatziki Sauce or avocado. Serve on a slice of bread or on a bed of baby arugula or whatever greens you like. The tzatziki sauce is also a dressing when it’s made with the thinner yogurt. We serve with Roasted Veg and often with steamed string beans. In the spring, it’s nice with local grilled asparagus.
Notes:
Use frozen spinach, thawed, rinsed, squeezed, chopped instead of kale.
Variation: cooked small pieces of sweet potato with the kale mixture; you might need to add a splash or two of water and cover to steam; remember to adjust your heat to low once the pan is hot. I often omit the feta in this variation.
Variation: grated zucchini (water squeezed out through a clean cloth) and grated carrot instead of kale. This is nice with chopped fresh thyme and brightened with a little chopped marjoram.
Save stems for broth.
Penzey’s Justice Seasoning is awesome in these burgers and
Kasha
I often add cooked, toasted buckwheat groats (kasha):
Assuming you’ve bought them already toasted: rinse 1/2 cup of kasha and add to a pot of just boiled slightly salted water. Mix. Put on lid. TURN OFF STOVE. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Then mix it up, taste it. It should be perfecto. If it’s not, you might need to add a splash or two of boiling water, mix and cover again. Boiling for too long makes it not perfecto.
Add most of this to the burgers or to taste, but leave a bit if you need lunch for tomorrow when you can saute mushrooms with onions, add kasha to reheat, add chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste. It might need a splash of water when you add the kasha.
Tzatziki Sauce
I basically wanted Tzatziki but didn’t have cucumber or greek yogurt.
1-1.5 cups Plain yogurt (if i’d had time to strain it, i would have)
Big handful of dill, chopped
3-4 cloves minced garlic
freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-2 scallions, chopped
Salt + Pepper
It’s all to taste, so mix it up and start tasting and adjusting.