almost guilt-free. [goat cheese-stuffed turkey burgers w. roasted red pepper relish]
Since I’m late to post, happy belated St. Patrick’s Day! From the posts I’ve seen, it looks like you all ate and drank pretty well on the holiday. I ate terribly over the weekend, so I’ve tried to get back on track this week.
Though I can’t say burgers are the healthiest option, this recipe uses ground turkey, which is leaner, and I used thin style hamburger buns. That helps a little…right?
Regardless, these burgers were juicy and full of flavor–from the slight tartness of the lemon and zest to the tangy goat cheese inside the patty to the slightly spicy roasted red pepper relish.
Turkey burger recipe:
1.25 lb. lean ground turkey
6 tbsp. bread crumbs
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
6 tbsp. Chevre goat cheese
6 thin-style whole wheat hamburger buns
Directions:
Combine turkey, breadcrumbs, lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, salt and pepper in large bowl. Mix well. Divide turkey mixture into 6 equal portions. Form 1 portion into two 4-inch diameter patties. Place 1 tbsp. goat cheese atop 1 turkey patty; place second patty atop cheese. Seal patties at edges to enclose cheese. Repeat with remaining 5 portions.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or indoor grill. Grill burgers until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Grill hamburger buns, cut side down, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Place turkey burgers on bottom half of buns. Top burgers with Roasted Red Pepper Relish, then bun tops and serve.
Relish recipe:
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 red bell peppers, roasted, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups sweet onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with foil and place red peppers on top. Roast peppers about 15-20 minutes, rotating every 5 minutes or so, until blistering and skin is noticeably peeling off.
Remove from oven and place peppers in glass bowl. Cover bowl with Saran wrap and let pepper sweat about 10 minutes (to make peeling the skin easier). Once peppers have cooled, remove skin and seeds, then chop into small pieces.
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red peppers and sauté 2 minutes. Add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
Mix vinegar and sugar in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir vinegar mixture into red peppers. Mix in mustard and cayenne pepper. Season with salt. Continue cooking relish until all liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
This is so beautiful and delicious looking I love how you combined turkey and the goat cheese together .I love turkey burgers they are guilt free.
Ooh they sound good – and I love the idea of putting the cheese inside the patty – a lovely goat´s cheesy surprise as you bite in!
You know I love my beef but boy do these look good. Nice photos Caroline.
these look so yummy and the peppers give it beautiful color, and im sure also flavor!
You could serve that red pepper relish with absolutely anything and I’d eat it. Heck, I’d eat the relish all by itself. The burgers look nice and juicy … which isn’t always easy with ground turkey. Way to go!
i still have not eaten a turkey burger, and it is the relish that makes it.. lovely.. c
yummm!! and your pictures look fantastic! keep up the good work :)
It looks hearty and flavourful. And that relish…definitely a keeper.
I love the cheese surprise in the burger :)
The relish sounds and looks so tempting. I love roasted peppers
Almost is close enough!
Mmm – all around looks fabulous – plus red peppers always add a special touch!
Healthy or not, that relish and goat cheese make these burgers a “must make” for this Summer! Great recipes, Caroline!
I’m pretty sure I can hear that burger speaking to me and saying….EAT ME NOW! :-)
These turkey burgers and the relish look mouthwatering, Caroline! What a wonderful and creative recipe. Yum!
These look perfect, Caroline – and way healthier for you than most burgers out there. You might have convinced me to try turkey meat…
Ground turkey meat, I meant. :)
I’m so glad you posted this. We made burgers the other day and I told my husband that I needed to be a bit more creative. The ingredients are all waist friendly too as well as the relish! I too use the slim buns for my burgers! Hope you are having a great week!
I love a good turkey burger.. they just make me happy when I eat them :). So I wouldn’t mind trying out this delicious recipe.
Love the ‘almost’ guilt-free – hee.hee… your packaging is so cute as are your nails matching the colour of the red pepper ;-)
Yum, I love your list of ingredients and that relish sounds wonderful! Love to be able to eat a burger without feeling like it’s a huge splurge!
I bet the red pepper relish really made it something special. The goat cheese couldn’t have hurt either! It looks so hearty, healthy and absolutely tasty.
I love the idea of red pepper relish! I bet it would also be delicious on tacos or mixed in my spaghetti squash. Great idea!
These sound good, Caroline. That relish would be awesome.
these sound really good!
I’m not much of a burger person, not sure why, but THIS definitely gets my taste buds dancing about all excitedly – delicious.
:-) Mandy
These look extremely professional – forget fast food forever with your creations :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Latest: Double Nutella Cheesecake Brownies
These look soooo delish! Goat cheese is my love!
You know there’s nothing like a good hamburger! (or turkey burger as it were) This looks delicious!!! I had a truffle goat cheese yesterday…I think you would have loved it. And I can imagine it would go very well with this. :)
nice twists for a healthy burger. thanks for this relish recipe! love the creamy tang of goat cheese, melting onto the patty.
Looks pretty tasty to me! I love those oro-wheat buns!
Your beautiful photo has made me hungry. I just ate a cup of healthy yogurt but wish I had your turkey burger instead.
Wow, these burgers sound SO good! I love how you took a traditional burger and fancied it up too – I love goat cheese! :-D
Um…wow is all I can say. These look seriously amazing. Love that you used those thins as a bun :)
Yum! These look amazing! My mouth is watering. I just told my husband I wanted to make feta stuffed turkey burgers – this reminded me of them <3
Almost Guilt Free is how every food and dish should be haha, love the term, very cute.
We’re big fans of turkey burgers here.. I make them tons in the summer at the lake (too many burgers and hot dogs and steaks goin’ on then!). I’m going to have to try this relish, this is the sort of thing I’d love to have on stand-by in my fridge, ready to pull out and make another every deal meal fantastic!
Caroline,
Oh, Myyyyy,
can you hear my tummy growling wildly? Xxx
Have a groovy weekend, dear. xx
Ohh my goodness..I don’t eat turkey, but these look AMAZING! I would try this with my black bean burgers I have been eating! The relish looks phenomenal.
I have yet to try Turkey Burgers… I know, right! I love Bison Burgers though and I’ve heard they are better for you than the turkey so that’s a plus. I just tried those little buns last week and I thought they were pretty tasty. My hubby didn’t like them so I used the rest of them for lunch meat sandwiches with turkey since my muffin top is getting a bit out of hand ;) These look fabulous and the relish is right up my alley.
I’m quite curious how the goat cheese is going to play in the burger (I normally won’t pick goat cheese as my choice) but I love the challenge. I feel like I’m going to like it very much especially with the roasted red pepper relish. I think goat cheese would go so well. Very tempting recipe!
Oh, yummy, yummy, yummy….from the turkey burger to the relish, well try it, thanks Caroline.
I love this, goats cheese in burger. I havent tried those yet but why not this will be in my to do list soon
looks good! :-)