BUT turkey is a much underused meat in this country, it’s low in fat, and if cooked right is pretty tasty too. So hopefully, this recipe will enable some of you to get your burger fix whilst being a bit healthier in January. Oh yeah, and sweet potatoes are officially a superfood now too. Think I turned that one around…

The long-ish ingredient list suggests that this is quite an involved recipe, but it really isn’t. Once you’ve got everything together, it’s pretty easy. The red pepper relish works really well with the burgers, as does a bit of creamed horseradish instead of ketchup or mayo. I like the robust sponginess of ciabatta with these, but feel free to use whatever bread tickles your fancy.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the patties

400 g turkey mince

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 tbs parsley, finely chopped

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tbs grated parmesan

Salt & pepper to taste

For the relish

1 red pepper, de-seeded & cut in to strips

1/2 large onion, sliced

Salt & pepper to taste

Pinch of brown sugar

Nob of butter

For the fries

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into batons

Olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Tabasco

To serve

Ciabatta

Creamed horseradish

Gruyère cheese

Rocket

Method

So first up, make the patties. There’s no added binding ingredients in the recipe, and I find that the burgers stay together better once they’ve had a bit of a chance to rest in the fridge after making. So finely chop all your veg, herbs, garlic etc and stick them in a bowl along with the turkey mince and Parmesan. Get your hands in there and mix everything together until evenly distributed. If you want to check your seasoning, fry a small amount in a pan and give it a taste. Form the mix in to two equal sized patties (don’t compress them too hard, just give them enough pressure so that they form together nicely) and then cover and pop in the fridge.

Whilst the burgers are chilling, prep the rest of the veg for the relish and fries, and set your oven to 200c. When you’re done doing this, get the fries going. Pop your batons of sweet potato into a roasting tray and slosh over some olive oil, sprinkle over salt and pepper and then add a few dashes of Tabasco. You can add more or less depending on how hot you like it. Give everything a good mix until all the sweet potato is coated and then pop in the oven. The fries will cook for about half an hour, or until they are soft and nicely coloured.

Now turn your attention to the relish. In a frying pan / skillet with a lid (more on this in a bit) melt a nob of butter over a medium high heat, and then add your onion and red pepper along with salt, pepper and a pinch of brown sugar. You want to slowly fry and caremelise the veg until they’ve got good colour and a nice sticky consistency.

When the relish is close to being done, move it over to one side of the pan, take the burgers out of the fridge, and add them to the pan. Initially what you want to do is brown them nicely, around 1 or 2 minutes on each side until they have a good golden crust. Once you’ve got this, add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan and then pop on the lid and continue to cook them for a further 6 minutes, turning once (NB. when you turn the burgers, stir the relish to make sure its not burning). Putting the lid on with a bit of water will help keep the turkey moist, which is as we know a bit of a problem with the big bird.

Just before the burgers are done, stick a slice of Gruyère on top of each one and then replace the lid. As soon as the cheese is melted, you’re ready to go. Take out the burgers and the fries. Stick a handful of rocket on the bottom of each ciabatta, place the burger on top of this and then top with the red pepper relish. Spread some creamed horseradish on the top half of the bread and then get busy.

Photo - Princess Diablo

And while we’re on the subject of harvest festivals, it’s Thanksgiving today, so Happy Thanksgiving to all my American and Canadian chums.

Like Christmas dinner over here, Turkey is at the heart of any decent Thanksgiving feast, but for as long as I live I’ll never understand the whole sweet potato marshmallow thing.

Whatever you’re eating, ‘have a nice day’.

Another discovery that we made whilst there was a spice called Maras Biberi. It’s on the table of most restaurants and seems to be a kind of pepper substitute. It’s a blend of chili, olive oil, lemon juice and salt, ground up and dried. We bought some at the Egyptian Souk to bring back with us; it’s not that easy to get in London, but I have found it in local Turkish supermarkets.

We’re pretty much addicted to the stuff, and it goes into quite a lot of what we eat, including this recipe which is a remix of a healthy coleslaw.

Ingredients

Vegetables:

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 a head of spring / pointy cabbage, thinly sliced

2 medium carrots, grated

For the dressing:

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

3 tablespoons no fat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon hummus

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Maras Biberi

Juice of half a lemon

50 ml olive oil

Handful of chopped leafy green herbs (mint / basil / tarragon / coriander etc)

Method

Grate the carrots and finely chop the cabbage and onions and place in a large bowl. Mix the dressing in a sepperate bowl by chopping up the garlic and herbs and then adding the rest of the indgredients. Mix well until blended. Add the dressing to the vegetables in the bowl and mix well. Serve with grilled meats (lamb or chicken) or to keep it veggie some griddled Haloumi cheese. Afiyet olsun.