Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Turkey burgers with dried fruit relish

 Making dinner one night was supposed to be a simple affair. Until I realized I didn't have a lot of my usual ingredients on hand. Out of the deep freezer came a package of ground turkey for burgers. I thought I could serve them with cranberry sauce. Didn't have any. Mayo? Nope. Fruit salsa? I had some cilantro, but no fresh fruit, lime or jalapenos. Then I remembered a gifted tin of dried fruit still sitting in our cupboard I could use instead. I decided pickled hot peppers from a jar could stand in for the jalapenos. The result was juicy and hearty burgers offset with a pleasant sweet zing from the salsa. I used the leftover salsa on grilled chicken breasts another night. This recipe serves 4-6.

To make burgers:
In a large bowl, gently mix 2 lbs ground turkey, 1 lightly beaten egg, 3/4 cup breadcrumbs, 2T flax seed, 2 cloves chopped garlic, one bunch finely chopped green onion, 1/2 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper. Gently form into 8 patties. BBQ over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, turning once. Alternatively, bake at 400 for 12 minutes, turning once, then finish by broiling for an extra minute.

To make salsa:
Chop 1/3 cup dried apricots, 1/3 cup dried cherries and 1/3 cup dried pears, 1/4 cup pickled hot peppers, 1/4 cup cilantro and 1/4 red onion. Place fruit, hot peppers and cilantro in a medium bowl. Add juice of one lemon (or lime), 1T orange juice, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp ground coriander and salt to taste.  

Serve burgers open-faced on toasted whole-wheat buns and top with salsa.   
Salsa recipe adapted from here.


6 comments:

  1. You're so creative! Def stealing this relish sauce to use on veggie burgers- mmm! You'd be so proud of me- I've been cooking a lot more lately and I'm enjoying it too!

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  2. That salsa looks absolutely delicious - and I'm so impressed that you just cae up with it on the flay using what you had on hand :) I'm going to have to try this recipe next time I make veggie burgers!
    xox,
    Cee

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  3. This looks like something I'd have at a fancy, high-end restaurant! Delicious! x

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  4. Wow, this is impressive! It's like an episode of Chopped! (I don't know if you get this show in Canada, but it's a cooking compition show where chefs had to make a dish out of these competely random items, its so fun to watch!) I always hate it when I end up with random bits in the pantery, now I'll have to be more inspired, I would have never thought to use the dried fruit and to make a relish with it!

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  5. asecondglanceblog1 July 2012 at 10:51

    I'd be honoured if you did! Be sure to let me know how it goes :)

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  6. asecondglanceblog1 July 2012 at 10:54

    No we don't get that one (or at least I've never heard of it). There's a chef in Ottawa who, to prepare for a competition, asked his regularly to bring a really random ingredient and he made dishes up on the fly. I get occasional bursts of creativity but mostly I just play around with existing recipes. So I admire when people can get incredibly creative on shows!

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I genuinely enjoy reading everyone's comments. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!