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.

Creamy Chicken and Tomato Potato Bake

 

Its January in the year 2013, dubbed to be the ‘unlucky’ year that could never live up to 2012. We’ve all eaten and drunk too much over the festive period, and as we look ahead to what 2013 has to offer we all decide we want to be a little bit skinnier along the way.

Now I don’t want to be all doom and gloom. But I’m sure I’m not the only one living in a house of people who currently seem to have a million and one things to moan about, their waistlines being one. I should’ve known the joy and frivolity of Christmas wouldn’t last forever, but I didn’t expect it to end so soon!

Nonetheless, requests are flying in for tasty food that will help people slim down over the coming months. After all, if there’s one thing we can change about this ‘unlucky’ year, it’s how much we weigh.

So, with weight loss in mind, and a fridge full of food I set about creating my low-fat creamy tomato potato bake. Now, the most common complaint about low fat food is that it is bland and doesn’t fill you up for long enough. This recipe is neither of those things!

The reason behind this dish is that it always seems to me that as soon as I tell myself I should be eating healthily I suddenly crave all the things I shouldn’t, in particular chocolate and all things creamy. I’d previously developed a low in fat yet very creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta Bake, and I was keen to try and come up with another creamy sauce that wouldn’t make me pile on the pounds. The indulgent creamy texture of the reduced fat crème fraiche in this sauce makes it feel like you’re treating yourself without taking on unnecessary calories. By making just a few substitutes on your ingredients list you can cut out quite a lot of fat!

The fact that this dish is baked in the oven also reduced the need to add any fat to the cooking pan. (You won’t find any olive oil here!) You can further reduce the calories, and make it suitable for vegetarians, by simply leaving out the chicken.

So next time you want a low fat dinner that will keep you full all evening, and is choc-full of flavour, pop this potato bake into the oven (and maybe do a few sit ups while you wait…)

Gourmet Tuna Pasta Bake

Pasta bake is one of those dishes that everyone seems to associate with students...it might be the lazy pleasure of hearing that pasta sauce jar pop as your take off its lid, or the fact that if you’re willing to wait a little longer...you don’t even have to pre-cook your pasta! That’s one less pan to wash up!

I’m not going to lie, I’ve taken the pasta bake route many a time in my uni career, and with my uni career coming to an end in just a week, I’m not ready to give them up just yet! So, I set myself the challenge of a gourmet pasta bake, fit for the lawyer I am going to become!

If you though pasta bakes were for lazy people on a student’s budget, think again! The pasta bake is back and it is better than ever!

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.