Italian Turkey Burgers

The leaning tower of Turkey Burgers

Last week I gave you the chance to vote on which recipe you’d like to see on the blog next in a poll on my Facebook page. I’d got a few ideas floating around but I’ve been so busy what with my final exams at law school and looking for a job, I hadn’t quite had the chance to put pen to paper so to speak.

Those of you that voted decided you wanted to see my Italian Turkey Burgers!

I used to make burgers a lot at university and over the last few months I’ve reignited my passion for them. Not only is it slowly but surely becoming BBQ season – the time during which burgers are king – I’ve also recently bought a burger press so I can finally produce professional looking patties.

The patties

What I love most about a burger is that you can flavour it with almost anything!

The meat you choose is your base. I find beef is particularly good with deep flavours. It is stronger than turkey mince so can take the addition of smokey BBQ flavours, as well as salty cheese. Turkey mince on the other hands requires more delicate flavouring.

This burger is very much a “light” burger – not only because it’s made with turkey mince which is leaner than beef mince, but because it is built up in its bun with fresh spinach, succulent beef tomato slices and creamy (low fat) mozzarella as well as sweet caramelised onion rings. Each layer is carefully selected to bring a fresh, summery (and Italian) flavour to the burger.

Warm Salad Series: Fresh Fig Salad with Cured Ham and Mozarella

“Fresh figs 3 for £1,” how do you walk past a market stall with a sign like that? I certainly couldn’t!

The first day that I attended law school I noticed a fruit market just on the corner by the tube station. They sell allsorts from big fruit salads for just £1 which are perfect for lunch, to other fresh seasonal fruits – like figs!

Every morning the stall is already set up with lots of customers grabbing something to eat on their way to work, and it’s only taken me a week to be swept up by the stalls popularity. This may have been my first purchase, but I know it won’t be my last.

I’ve only eaten figs a few times (always in restaurants) and I have never cooked with them myself, so it was a pretty bold move to buy some. However, with my warm salad series underway I knew I could muddle something together.

Tomato, Mozzarella and Pesto Picnic Tart

I am really excited to be starting to explore real summer recipes! I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this tart would look great on a salad table at a BBQ, laid out on a picnic blanket in a field or on a beach, or just in the centre of a dinner table with a big bowl of salad and potato wedges keeping the whole family happy on a summer’s eve!

The quantities of this recipe make a tart 7.5 inches across so it really is the perfect size for sharing among other dishes, but I can guarantee whatever you serve it with, this tart will be the star!

What makes this tart so special are the four distinct layers, melt in the mouth short crust pastry, earthy pesto, creamy mozzarella and then bright and sunny tomatoes – which are now in season by the way! Woo hoo! You don’t know how excited May makes me in terms of food, as some of the best fruit and veg comes in to season, as soon as exams are over I’ll be taking over my Dad’s veg patch, he won’t know what’s hit him!

Not only is this dish in season, but it is also easy to turn into a low-er fat option! Tomatoes will give you a helping hand towards your 5 a day, low fat/low cal mozzarella and pesto are easy to find in any good supermarket. And I can confirm that the most recent time that I made my pastry, I made it with a low fat margarine substitute! (God only knows what its chemical name is...we will pretend its margarine for now...)

I guarantee that if you try this recipe it will become a staple of your summer.

Aubergine and Pesto Bake

I learnt an interesting fact today while my dinner sat in the oven, the delicious smell of aubergine, tomato and pesto wafting through to my lounge – aubergines (also known as eggplant in America), are NOT a vegetable, in fact they are a berry!

People are often unsure of what to do with aubergines as they are notorious for acting as a sponge, and soaking up lots of oil making dishes with them in quite fatty. In this recipe however, the aubergines merely soak up the juices of the pesto and tomato making for a really flavoursome dish!


Enjoy!