Turkey Burgers, or How to Hide Vegetable Where They’re Least Expected

I started today with a little bit of a cold and a mission. Stepping out into the chilly air, I hoped I would be warm enough. After doing my homework on the web and studying mapquest I felt like I had a pretty good handle on where I would find our ‘local’ green market.

New York has a number of green markets around the city and in the boroughs. I’ve been to the one in Union Square and the one in Brooklyn is close to where I used to live. But up until today I had been unable to locate either of Queen’s two elusive markets. Armed with my shopping bag and list I struck out for the subway station.

As in turns out, the green market is not far from one of the stops on the #7 train and the NYSC gym that my boyfriend and I work out at in Sunnyside, so I didn’t have too much trouble finding it. It’s not a large market, not like the others I’ve been to, but the food was fresh and local and the people were very friendly. It’s still early in the season and I’m sure they’ll have more in the coming weeks.

I was able to get all the fresh veggies in my list. Just look at this bounty of baby greens. I even got red spinach, which I’ve never heard of before, it’s supposed to be a little sweeter than green spinach, I’ll find out soon enough. Now that I’ve found it, and since it’s so close to the gym, I’m adding the green market to my list of errands.

All the goodies I got lead me to my recipe of today: Turkey Burgers. Since the first meatloaf I made my boyfriend has been requesting different variations. First it was a beef and turkey meatloaf for the whole family and then it was an all turkey meatloaf for him to take for lunch at work. Now, the last turkey meatloaf I made he sliced up and took in sandwiches, but each slice was much smaller than the bread and I suggested that I could make turkey burgers that would fill out a sandwich better. Ever since then he’s been asking for turkey burgers.

Since I’m cooking for him, I feel partially responsible for his nutrition. He’s a personal trainer and really wants to take care of his body. But the food his mother cooks, traditional Ecuadorian fare doused in corn oil, is pretty light on the dark green leafy veggies and he has some inbred aversion to eating greens. Their idea of a salad is few pieces of iceberg lettuce along with a meal. So I formulated these turkey burgers to be very similar to the meat loaf and I tried to sneak in some dark greens. Hopefully he won’t notice. As long as it’s high protein, low fat and low carb he should be happy.

Turkey Burgers
1 ¼ Lb. ground light meat turkey
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ c. fresh baby spinach, chopped
½ c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. poultry seasoning mix
1 egg or egg white
salt and pepper to taste

mix everything together with your hands until well mixed. Form into 4 or 5 patties and grill or pan-fry.