Meditteranean Sea Salsa Burger

Pairs well with:

Zinfandel

Bright and full-bodied, this Zinfandel wine is a curious contradiction in tastes.

Ingredients:

Spice Mixture
1/2 tsp ground cayenne
1TBSP ground coriander
1TBSP ground cumin
2 TBSP parsley flakes
1 tsp sea salt

Patties
2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup onion (diced fine)
1 TBSP garlic (diced fine)
8 oz. goat cheese (crumbled)

Sea Salsa
1 cup plain greek yogurt (strained)
1 whole fresh ripe Haas avacado (peeled & seed removed)
1 tsp fresh garlic (diced fine)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cucumber (peeled & seeds removed)
1 TBSP water
1 tomato (diced)

Vegetable oil for brushing on the grill rack
6 large white whole pita pockets
2 cups romaine lettuce (chopped)

Instructions:

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

In a small bowl, mix the spice mixture together well and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the turkey with all of the spice mixture, then mix in the garlic and onion. Then gently add the goat cheese (the crumbles should remain mostly intact) Handle the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it but mix evenly. Divide the meat into 6 patties.

In a medium sized bowl, gently mash 1/2 of the Haas avacado till smooth, then mix in the greek yogurt, garlic and sea salt.
In a blender, puree 1/2 of the cucumber with 1 TBSP water, then stir this into the yogurt mixture.
Set aside

Dice the tomato, the other 1/2 of the cucumber and the other 1/2 of the avacado. Gently add these veggies to the yogurt mixture to create the Sea Salsa.
Cover and set aside.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and cook approximately 4 to 5 minutes on each side, turning only once, till patties are done to preference.
During the last minute of grilling, place the whole pita bread on the upper rack or outer edge to warm both sides, keeping the bread soft and pliable.
After removing the pita from the grill, cut off the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the bread to open the pocket.

To assemble the burger, place the patty in the pocket,
then add the lettuce and fill the pocket with Sea Salsa.

Makes 6 burgers.