Herbed Cranberry Turkey Burger

Pairs well with:

Pinot Grigio

You won’t need a bouquet of flowers when you share our Pinot Grigio. This crisp wine with floral aromas is a wonderful way to make an entrance.

It started with adip that I make for my family for Thanksgiving every year. The dip has cranberries, goat cheese & pesto and it pairs so well with turkey that I thought last Thanksgiving “I should somehow combine this into a turkey burger!!” Here are my results – enjoy!!

Ingredients:

Goat Cheese Spread
3 ounces goat cheese, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup finely chopped dried cranberries
1 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts

Pesto-Mayonnaise
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared pesto
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Couscous
1/4 cup couscous
1/2 cup boiling water

Patties
2 pounds ground turkey breast
2 tablespoons each fresh parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 oz goat cheese crumbles
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

Vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill
6 sandwich size sourdough English muffins

Instructions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

Boil 1/2 cup of water. Stir in couscous, turn off heat and set aside until the water is absorbed.

For goat cheese spread, in a food processor, cream the goat cheese and cream cheese together until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining ingredients and pulse until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until assembling the burgers.

To make pesto–mayonnaise, in a small bowl stir together mayonnaise, pesto and parmesan. Cover and refrigerate until assembling the burgers.

To make the patties, combine all ingredients in a large bowl plus the couscous. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the muffins. Cover and refrigerate until ready to grill.

Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once, 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until fully cooked.

During the last few minutes of cooking, place the muffins, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly.

To assemble the burgers, spread a generous amount of goat cheese spread on the bottom muffin half. Place a bed of arugula on top of the goat cheese spread, followed by the patty. Spread the top muffin half with pesto-mayonnaise, place on the patty and serve.

Makes 6 burgers.