Turkey Burgers with Pear Salad

Are you ready for... the Umami Burger?!

It's a meat burger with beautiful Vietnamese flavours. The original recipe can be found here, and I've modified it o make it more BTD friendly. This is not a 100% compliant burger because of the fish sauce (anchovies), but it just tastes so darn good that I can overlook the small deviation from the diet.

As for the original recipe from Bodyrock.tv, I'm not keen on sauces with meat, so I made a pear fruit salad, which really involved grilling pears and pineapple and adding them to a salad of tossed greens and some walnuts.

Ingredients - Burger

• 2 lbs ground turkey (mixed breast and thigh)
• 1-1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp honey or agave
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions - Burger

1. Mix all ingredients together and let sit for at least 20 mins. The longer, the better.
2. Form into patties and grill. I grill mine for about 10 mins per side.
3. Serve with salad. What salad? This salad!

Ingredients - Salad

•  2 pears, chopped into large chunks
• 1/2 a pineapple, chopped into large chunks
• small handful of basil and parsley, minced
• drizzle of olive oil
• skewers for grilling

Directions - salad

1.  Combine all ingredients together (except skewers) and let sit for a few minutes.
2. Thread the fruit onto skewers and cook on the grill with your burgers.
3. Combine the grilled fruit with mixed greens, lemon juice and olive oil. Top with walnuts for some crunch. 

Quinoa Veggie Burger

It's burger season here in Vancouver, and this one is absolutely divine. I adapted the recipe from Chatelaine without too much hassle or difficulty. It was more or less compliant off the bat, which I liked. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and full of flavour.

I've been looking for a good vegetarian alternative to your standard meat burger. Though these can be made in standard burger size and served with a salad - you'll see in the directions how this is done - they would also make great mini burgers, dolled up for a cocktail party as finger food with a dab of sour cream and chives on top.

Quinoa Veggie Burger (adapted from Chatelaine)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (about 2 cups cooked) 
• 1 tsp olive oil, plus more for frying
• 1/2 227 g pkg cremini mushrooms, coarsely grated (1 cup) 
• 1 cup coarsely grated zucchini (about 3/4 of a zucchini)
• 3/4 cup coarsely grated carrot (1-2 carrots)
• 1 small shallot, minced 
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• 1 egg, beaten
• small handful of parsley, minced  
• 2 tbsp arrowroot starch 
• pinch of coarse salt 

Directions

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions, about 14 min. I buy my quinoa in bulk, and this is my method: rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil and then add the 1/2 cup quinoa (ratio is 1:1.5). Give it a good stir, put a lid on, drop the heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and fluff with a fork. Let it cool with the lid off. 
2. Grate your veggies. I have done this in with a hand grater and a food processor (with grater attachment). It works well, and if you aren't pressed for time, use the hand grater to save yourself some dishes. 
3. Heat a large, wide non-stick frying pan over medium. Add oil, then mushrooms, zucchini, carrot, shallot and garlic. Cook until soft, about 5 min. 
4. In a large bowl, mix egg, starch, salt and parsley. Add quinoa and mix thoroughly and then add veggies and mix.
5. Heat the same non-stick frying pan over medium. Add a little more oil if the pan looks too dry. Firmly press quinoa mixture into a 1/2-cup measuring cup. Turn and release into pan. Gently press to shape into a patty about 4 in. wide. Repeat, cooking 2 patties at a time. Cook until golden and warmed through, about 4 min per side.