Week 3, Recipe 2: Thai Turkey Burgers

Warm Pineapple Salsa Ingredients:
one whole pineapple, cored & peeled
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
½ tsp. dried basil, or 10-15 fresh basil leaves cut into strips
Crushed red pepper flakes
Sesame oil

Turkey Burger:
1⅓ pounds lean ground turkey breast (do not use extra lean - it is too dry)
1 inch fresh gingeroot, peeled and grated, or 2 pinches ground ginger
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. curry powder
Salt, to taste
2 scallions, finely chopped

Bibb, Boston, or red leaf lettuce for topping
English muffins

1) Heat sesame oil over medium to medium-low heat.  Add crushed red pepper for about 2 minutes.  Saute onions over low heat until slightly browned. Add pineapple & dried basil (if using in lieu of fresh) and cook approximately 2-3 minutes until warmed through.
2) Combine all turkey burger ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into 4 patties. These can be cooked in a skillet for approximately 4 minutes on each side or on a preheated grill. Top burgers with warm salsa and lettuce and serve.

Results: This recipe is adapted from Rachael Ray's book Classic 30 Minute Meals.  I used dried basil instead of fresh & EVOO instead of sesame oil (which is about $6 for a small bottle!!! YEAH RIGHT!!).  I was a bit nervous about the pineapple salsa because I'm not big on sweet flavors in my food but the savory spices mellowed out the pineapple.  The basil gave it a great flavor.  If I made these for Rashan I'd probably use even more curry because they had nice heat but he likes even more!  Or I'd put jalapeno in the pineapple salsa.  I also used onions instead of scallions.  My mom & I both really liked these burgers.  As you can see I served them with crinkle-cut fries (my fave).