Turkey Burgers with Homefries & Greek Salad

Homemade Turkey Burgers

- Lean Ground Turkey

- 1 Egg

- Parmesan Cheese (Fresh is fine....or Asiago/Romano)

- Cracker or Bread Crumbs (yes, ANY unflavoured cracker will work)

- Worchestershire Sauce

- Garlic

- White Onion

- Mushrooms (optional)

- Spinach (optional)

- Salt & Pepper

Here's the thing about burgers: you can make them taste HOW EVER you want them to. Get creative with it, add hot sauce, a fresh green jalepeño or some jack cheese to give it some kick. Add any herb you want to the burgers; rosemary works really well with any meat, just be careful not to add too many or you might start mixing craaazzy flavours!

When buying turkey, or any kind of ground meat, it is really important to know your source. I think sourcing our food is something that should take place more often, because it is possible to buying ethically raised meat that is both fresh and local! Ground turkey can be expensive, but it is incredibly good for you. Watch your local sales, it keeps wonderfully in the freezer!

In a large bowl add turkey.

Grate 3 cloves of garlic with a micro-grater and add it to the turkey.

Add parm....don't be shy, it will give the burgers a savoury kick! Couple good shakes!

Add a finely chopped onion

Add finely chopped vegetables, about a 1/4 cup of each (optional)

Add splash of Worchestershire Sauce

Add Egg

Add about 1 cup of bread crumbs or finely crushed plain crackers (if you use a salted cracker, you will cut down on adding anymore salt)

Add finely chopped fresh herbs (optional)

Option:

You could also add ketchup, BBQ sauce, teryaki sauce etc, if you want to. Make sure you balance your liquid content with your bread crumb/cracker content, you don't want a runny mixture. I choose to omit this step because sauces and such are full of sugar. For a sharper taste with less sugar, use a dijon mustard - plain yellow mustard works too.

BBQ burgers until they hold firm and aren't pink inside. It's important that the BBQ grill is clean and well oiled, as well as preheated or the turkey will stick to them. Cook them on a lower heat for a longer time. Don't flip them right away or they will break apart. Melt some cheese on top if you want too!

Dress your bun how you like and enjoy!

I use a whole wheat kaiser and dress it with light mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, onion, tomato and spinach!

Homefries

You can bake ANYTHING in the oven and make it taste great!! Potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, squashes, etc! I quite frequently use yams, they are more nutrient dense than potatoes are and add a splash of colour to any plate. In this case, I had leftover potatoes...

- Russett Potatoes or Yams

- Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Sea/Coarse/Kosher Salt

- Dried Herb (Choose; Rosemary, Basil, Oregano, Thyme)

- Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees C.

Wash potatoes or yams thoroughly.

Cut desired amount of potatoes into french fry strips: Cut potato length wise into 1/4" chuncks. Lay cut pieces flat and cut them into 1/4" strips. Leave the skin on, it adds a nice earthy flavour to the mix. You can make the potato fries virtually any size you want; however, its important that the yams are on the smaller size.

In a large bowl, coat potatoes or yams in olive oil.

Add large pinch of salt, ground pepper and herbs.

Mix ingredients thoroughly.

On a lightly greased cookie sheet, lay potatoes or yams flat so that they aren't on top of one another. Cooking times vary depending on your oven. I cook them for about 35-40 minutes turning them once. You want them to have a golden brown colour when you're done, a little bit of charring on the yam fries is totally normal, it's just the sugars caramelizing!

Bon Appétit!