Turkey Spanakopita Burger

Turkey burgers have so much flavor! This is the third turkey burger recipe I've found and loved. It was also fun disguising spinach in the burger for the kids to get their green veggies. I was disappointed in the burger topping options and will most likely serve this without the bun next time because the meat is tasty enough to stand on it's own. Rachael Ray recommends a cucumber yogurt sauce or a roasted red pepper spread but I think a slice of fresh tomato on top and a side salad would be perfect. (By the way, I was wondering what spanakopita means and looked it up. They are Greek pastries filled with feta and spinach.)

Turkey Spanakopita Burger

recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, plus some for drizzling

1 tablespoon butter

3 cloves garlic, 2 chopped, 1 crushed

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 box (10 ounces) frozen spinach, defrosted

2 teaspoons dried oregano, lightly crushed in the palm, divided

1/4 pound feta crumbles

1 1/3 pounds ground chicken or ground turkey breast

1 tablespoon grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. To one side, add a little extra-virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. When butter melts, add the chopped garlic and chopped red onion and cook 5 minutes. Transfer the onions and garlic to a bowl to cool. 

Wring the defrosted spinach dry buy twisting it in a clean kitchen towel over your sink. Separate the spinach as you add it to the bowl with cool onions, garlic and season with 1 teaspoon of oregano. Add feta crumbles then turkey, grill seasoning and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Mix and form into 4 patties, 1-inch thick. Return pan to stovetop, raise heat to medium-high and add patties cooking 6 minutes on each side. (We grilled our outside on the BBQ. I was nervous that the meat/cheese mixture would gum up the grill or fall apart but it cooked really well and didn't make a mess.)

*Jayne's Notes: I used fresh spinach from the garden, steamed it for 5 minutes and then wrung the excess moisture out before adding it to the recipe. Tonight we served this with a basil pesto aioli sauce but it wasn't great. I really do think this would taste just fine as a bun-less meat main dish and some fresh sliced tomatoes and maybe cucumbers on top.