portobello black bean turkey burgers

PORTOBELLO BLACK BEAN TURKEY BURGERS

Today Garrett and I leave for Morocco and Portugal, which not only means the next few weeks will be a great adventure, but that I'll return and summer will be over before I know it.  The next few posts will embrace as much summer as there is left to cling to, starting with a great alternative summer burger.

But first, let me mark a milestone for this blog.  As my loyal viewers know, the catalyst for blogging started when one of my best buds, Bree, got engaged last fall.  This weekend I celebrated her wedding day, which reminded me that love and friendships are so much more important that stolen debit cards and $200 parking tickets for expired Chicago city stickers (because that happened to me this weekend, as well).  The bride and groom looked absolutely stunning and incredibly fit, and I hope a few of the recipes on the blog helped them enjoy getting so hot for the beginning of their lives together.  I have to give a little shout-out to Joanna and Chris, another bride and groom whose wedding I was lucky to attend last night.  Both weddings were not only charming, classy, and sweet, but also full of delicious food!

So, if you stuffed yourself anywhere near the extent to which I did this weekend, then here's a good burger recipe that will make you feel good without missing out on any more summer fun.  Really, its all about doing whatever personal things you usually do with your burger, and replacing the bun with some juicy grilled portobello mushrooms.  Yeah, you'll probably need a fork and a knife, but hopefully its of a plastic variety at some backyard summer BBQ.

Lentil Turkey Burgers

LENTIL TURKEY BURGERS 
W/ CARAMELIZED ONIONS 
& BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES

 
Burgers are so versatile and low-maintenance that its worth experimenting with new ingredients.  Get as crazy as you want.*

While I wouldn't describe this burger as crazy at all, it certainly combines multiple "alternative" burger genres - turkey, lentil, and veggie all rolled into one.  The recipe follows a pretty simple burger formula I rely on: a mix of a low-fat animal protein with a vegetarian protein and as many finely diced vegetables as possible.  That means any bean, legume, or heartier vegetable will work great.  I've personally developed a physical aversion to quinoa after an overdose during its peak of popularity in late 2011, but if you're still a healthy user or you have it out for Bolivian farmers, then by all means.

There are countless "healthy" burger recipes out there, but one thing I always watch out for is filler.  While this recipe does call for a small amount of bread crumbs and an egg, you could most likely get away without it if you really wanted to keep it as lean as possible. 

Burger Mix (makes 5 patties):

• 1 lb. extra lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup french lentils
• 1 cup stock or water
• 1 zucchini, finely chopped
• 1 cup carrot, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, 2 finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 tbsp. paprika
• 1/2 tbsp. coriander 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1/2 tbsp. pepper

Other Ingredients:

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 sweet potato, cut into fries 
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Any additional burger condiments

Mediterranean Turkey Burger

Mediterranean Turkey Burger with Farro Tabbouleh, Tzatziki, and Spiced Chickpeas

There are a lot of components here, but the burger, tzatziki, and chickpeas all go very well together.  If you're not into the bitter flavor of tabbouleh, skip it and stuff everything else in a pita.