Mediterranean-Mint Turkey Burgers with Lemon Asparagus

Memorial Day is a day to remember those who have bravely sacrificed their lives for our country.  We all owe a debt of gratitude to them and their loved ones.  Many of us opt to celebrate the holiday surrounded by friends, family and good food.  Americans consider the Memorial Day weekend to be the official kick-off to summer and dust off their grills to test their burger flipping skills.  Today I am going to share with you one of my absolute favorite meals to cook on the grill.  The Mediterranean-mint turkey burger is full of flavor and perfectly accompanied by the tartness of lemon asparagus.  I guarantee these recipes will quickly become some of your favorites to make all summer long!

Mediterranean-Mint Turkey Burgers

Makes about nine 1/3 lb. patties

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ lbs. ground turkey
• 1 cup fresh mint, minced
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, minced
• 8 oz. crumbled feta cheese, whipped *to whip place crumbled feta in a food processor with 3 Tbsp. of olive oil, process until smooth
• Hamburger buns

Directions:

• In a large bowl add ground turkey and minced mint, mix well
• Form the meat into balls, roughly the size of a plum. You can make them bigger or smaller depending on your preference
• Cook on the grill over medium heat until they reach your desired doneness, I would recommend cooking the meat to at least medium or 165 degrees

Assembly:

• Toast the buns (optional)
• Layer your burger as follows: bottom of the bun, turkey patty and then a heap of minced Kalamata olives
• Spread a generous amount of the whipped feta on the top of the bun and place on your patty

Lemon Asparagus 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh asparagus
• Zest of one large lemon
• Juice of one large lemon
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• An ice bath *a large bowl to fit the asparagus filled with ice and cold water

Directions:

• In a large skillet bring 1” of water to a boil
• Put asparagus in pan and bring water back to a boil, remove from heat
• Drain and place asparagus into ice bath
• Melt the butter in the pan and toss asparagus
• Add lemon zest and juice, mix well

The cool tang of the Mediterranean-mint burgers paired with the zesty lemon asparagus creates an amazingly flavorful spread!  We served this meal last night for dinner and there was nothing left but happy bellies! Enjoy!

Cheers,

Amy