Since it’s Memorial Day, and that seems to be the unofficial start to summer, I thought it would be a good night for a burger. I decided on turkey burgers … turkey burgers with a kick. I added a minced poblano pepper and a minced jalapeño pepper, along with minced garlic and shallot.

The mini food processor is one of the best kitchen tools I have. Once I gave the peppers, garlic and shallot a rough mince, I added them to the bowl of my mini food processor, pressed the “chop” function and let them mince just a bit more. I wanted the pieces small enough that I wouldn’t have large pepper, garlic, or shallot pieces in our burgers.

I had already placed a pound and a quarter of ground turkey, along with a teaspoon and a half of kosher salt and a half teaspoon of pepper into a large bowl. Once the pepper mixture was minced to my liking, I added that to the turkey and mixed everything together lightly with a fork.

The mixture was the perfect amount to make four burger patties.

I heated two tablespoons of olive oil in my skillet before placing the patties into the pan. I cooked them for 6 minutes per side. (Make sure to cook your turkey burger patties until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.)

For garnish on my burger, I started with a base of spring mix, added a couple thin slices of tomato and sliced red pepper. I placed the burger on top and then topped that with a dollop of salsa. For a side dish in tonight’s dinner, I sautéd large mushrooms, yellow and green zucchini, red and green pepper and onion. It was the perfect accompaniment to our burger. That and an ear of fresh corn and it seems that summer is upon us.

The burger had just the right amount of “kick”. I removed the seeds from my peppers before using them, but feel free to leave all or some of them in if you would like.

Happy summer, everyone!

Ingredients

1-1/4 pounds ground turkey

1 pasilla (poblana) pepper, minced, seeds removed

1 jalapeño pepper, minced, seeds removed

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

For toppings

spring mix

tomato slices

red onion slices

salsa

Directions

1. Place turkey in large bowl. Add salt and pepper.
2. Chop peppers, garlic and onion and place in the bowl of a mini food processor. Chop until a tad smaller than a mince.
3. Add peppers, garlic, and onion to turkey and mix together lightly with a fork.
4. Form meat into four patties.
5. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add burgers and cook for 5-7 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris