Mediterranean Turkey Burgers with Mint-Pomegranate Yogurt Sauce

Well I wasn't expecting a return to the blog at least until I was through my test (1 week!!!), but this Memorial Day Weekend of studying and isolation has left me somewhat craving a creative outlet. So today, I bring to you my gourmet MDW cook-out. 

The latest issue of cooking light features an array of burger recipes and even spills the beans on techniques for a better burger. Flipping through the pages, I knew I had to finally get around to making the mediterranean/greek burgers I have been putting off for quite a while. Some of my favorite restaurants in NYC (Meme Mediterranean, ilili) serve the most amazing mediterranean food  and lamb burgers are always on the menu - I opted for a fusion of the same flavors, using turkey instead. The special twist is that nestled inside is a wonderful mixture of feta cheese, onion and garlic.

I happened to find/use 99% fat-free ground turkey, which is pretty much asking for the burger to be dried out, but fear not, that's where the greek yogurt comes in. When mixed in with the ground meat and spices, it adds a nice amount of moisture to the equation. In terms of the spices, I probably could have been a bit more liberal in the quantities, but I thought the flavors worked nicely regardless. In fact, I decided to save my bread until the end of my meal so I could enjoy the flavors of the burger free of distraction.

While normally, I would have topped these burgers off with some traditional tzatziki, I had an inexplicable case of pomegranates on the brain, so tzatziki had to step aside for its replacement...mint pomegranate yogurt sauce. Don't be surprised if there is another pomegranate post sometime in the near future - I recall reading somewhere that pomegranate seeds don't keep for too long.

Happy Memorial Day from my kitchen to yours!

The recipe:

Burger:
2 tbsp. red onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. feta cheese

1/4 lb. ground turkey (I used 99% fat free)
1 tbsp. plain non-fat greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. of ground cinnamon

Italian bread (or whatever bread you choose)

Mint Pomegranate Yogurt Sauce
Fresh mint leaves, 1-2 tsp chopped
1 tbsp. pomegranates seeds
1 tbsp. plain non-fat greek yogurt

Garnish:
Baby spinach leaves
Cucumber

Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes then add garlic and saute for another minute. Remove from heat, add feta cheese and sprinkle with pepper.

Add ground turkey to a bowl, add yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, oregano, rosemary, paprika and cinnamon. Mix together (don't overmix) until combined. Make 2 equal sized patties out of the turkey mixture. Put the onion-feta mixture onto half of the patty. Top with the other patty working the turkey around the edges to seal burger closed.

Spray a nonstick grill pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Grill the burger until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

Meanwhile chop mint and mix together with pomegranate seeds and greek yogurt.

To serve, slice burger in half and place both halves on top of lightly toasted italian bread. Top with yogurt sauce, then if you so choose add cucumber slices and baby spinach.