Spicy Turkey and Zucchini Burger

Turkey burger patties with grated zucchini, herbs, cumin, and cayenne, served with lemony sour cream sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey (breast) meat
• Just under 2 cups, lightly packed, coarsely grated zucchini (from about 2 to 3 small zucchinis or one medium zucchini)
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced, onion greens included
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint (spearmint)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (tender stems included)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• Nonstick cooking spray

Sour cream sauce:

• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 Make the sour cream sauce by placing all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stirring until combined. Chill until ready to use.

2 In a large bowl place the grated zucchini, sliced green onions, chopped mint, cilantro, and garlic, ground cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stir to combine. With your hands, mix in the ground turkey until the zucchini mixture is well distributed through the ground turkey.

3 Use your hands to form 3 to 4 inch wide patties, placing them on a baking sheet. Note that the patties will be rather wet, so they may be a little tricky to handle.

4 Coat pan with nonstick cooking spray. Let cook for about 5 minutes, then flip the patties over and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. You want them to brown and to gently cook all the way through. If the temperature is too high, they’ll get browned on the outside but the inside will still be raw. So, cook them gently. If the outsides are browned and the insides still aren’t done, lower the heat and cook longer.

5 Once the first batch of patties are done, remove to a paper towel-lined plate while you cook the second batch. Or you can keep the patties warm in a 200°F oven.

Makes 8 large patties or up to 18 small ones. Serve with the sour cream sauce.

• Prep time: 25 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4-6.

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Recipe adapted from the cookbook Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi and has been further modified to reduce fat content.