Caprese Turkey Burgers

Caprese Turkey Burgers

Tis the season for fresh tomatoes and basil…so I made me some Caprese Turkey Burgers!  I absolutely love the flavors in a Caprese Salad…the fresh juicy tomato, the slightly salty and oh so delicious fresh mozzarella, the bright taste of the basil and the sweet and tangy from balsamic vinegar make the perfect summer pairing!  I decided to take this perfect little salad and use it as a burger topping.  As per my usual, I used ground turkey, but this could certainly be made with ground beef or chicken and be equally delicious.  Here is what I did:

Ingredients

1 Pound ground turkey

2 Teaspoons Italian seasoning blend

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

½ Cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tomato, sliced

Fresh mozzarella, sliced

Fresh basil

Buns

Step 1

I began by making a balsamic reduction, so I could drizzle it over my burgers after I assembled them.  I wanted to reduce the balsamic vinegar so that it would deepen the flavor while thickening it so it would stick beautifully to the burger.  I used ½ cup of balsamic vinegar, but feel free to use more and refrigerate the leftovers!  It’s great drizzled on all sorts of things – I have even drizzled it over roasted beets…YUM!  Anyway, back to the reduction.  Heat your balsamic vinegar over medium heat and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  You will want to stir it occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn.  It’s ready when it just begins to cling to a spoon when you pull it out of the reduction.  Then set it aside for later.

Step 2

Before we go to the burger making, we need to prep the ingredients.  Slice your mozzarella and tomato (approximately ¼ inch thick for each).  If your basil needs to be washed, go ahead and do that and then dry your leaves.

Step 3

We’re ready for the burgers!  Combine the ground turkey, Italian seasoning, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Mix the meat until it is just combined…over mixing will just result in tough burgers.  Form the meat into equal patties.  I formed them into six patties, but four would make lovely quarter-pound burgers.

Step 4

I cooked the burgers in a little olive oil in a sauté pan, but if you have a grill pan, please use it (and I will be jealous, but happy)!  That would be perfect for these summery burgers.  I cooked them over medium-high heat for five minutes on each side.

Step 5

It’s time to assemble the burgers!  Place your burger on the bottom half of the bun.  Put a slice of tomato and then a slice of mozzarella on top.  Then place a couple of fresh basil leaves on top.  Finally, drizzle some of your balsamic reduction over the sandwich and then top with the other half of the bun.

Buon appetito!

Turkey Chili Soup

This dish was created at the grocery store.  When walking into the store this past weekend, we were trying to figure out what we wanted to make for Sunday dinner…we wanted something healthful that would provide some leftovers to eat on busy weeknights.  We thought about a white chicken chili we make with chicken breasts, but decided ground turkey sounded more “chili-ish”.  Without a recipe in hand, we walked through the store and selected ingredients we thought sounded good.  Thus, our Turkey Chili Soup was born.  And what a delicious result it was!  Take a look…

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 Pound ground turkey (I like using ground turkey breast)

1 Large onion, large diced

2 Jalapeno peppers, cleaned and small diced

1 Pobalano pepper, cleaned and large diced

1 Cup corn (I used frozen yellow)

3 (15 oz) cans beans (I used 2 cannellini and 1 pinto)

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 Tablespoon oregano

2 Teaspoons black pepper

½ Teaspoon crushed red pepper

6 ½ Cups chicken broth (I used unsalted stock)

Kosher salt to taste

1 Bunch Swiss chard, chopped

Sour cream, optional

Cheddar cheese, shredded, optional

Gastronome's Note:  We used a slow cooker, but you could easily make this on the stove.

Step 1

Begin, like I always do, by prepping the vegetables.  Large dice the onion.  When it comes to the peppers though, please be careful, especially the jalapenos!  I used gloves because of an incident I had the first time I chopped jalapenos.  It was for my sister’s graduation party and I was cleaning and dicing about 50 of them…gloveless.  My hands burned for days and the contacts I was wearing that day had to be tossed because they burned my eyes when I tried using them again!  So please, use caution!  Don’t be like me!  Remove as much of the veins and seeds as you like…that’s where the heat lives…so make it to your taste.  Small dice the jalapenos and large dice the poblano.

Step 2

Heat a medium sized saute pan over medium high heat.  Add some olive oil.  When it is hot, add the turkey and brown it.  It you have any excess fat when you are finished browning, just drain it off.

Step 3

Put the browned turkey, onion, peppers, corn, cumin, oregano, black pepper, red pepper and chicken broth in the slow cooker.  Drain and rinse the beans and then add them.  Add salt to taste.  Cover and turn to high heat for four hours.

Step 4

It should be bubbling and ever so fragrant by now.  Chop your Swiss chard and add it to the slow cooker.  It will begin wilting immediately when you stir it into the soup.  Let it heat through just a minute or two.  Then dish it up…doesn’t it look so healthful?!

Of course, I can’t stop there…I just had to reduce the low fat factor by adding some sour cream and shredded cheese…but oh how yummy it was!!!! J