Patty Who?

Or... Mediterranean Turkey Patties with yogurt sauce and roast veggies

 

I used to make these all the time, but I haven't made them in while and I was craving them. I think I found the original recipe in a magazine, which included bulgur wheat, but I've made some alterations and actually find I like my recipe better.

Patties:
1-1.5 lbs ground turkey
1 T fresh minced garlic
2 Ts chopped green onion
1 T fresh lemon zest
2 tsps ground cumin
Salt and pepper

Making the patties is pretty straight forward: put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix them together well, and make them into patties. I cook mine in a nonstick fry pan on medium heat, until cooked through.

Yogurt Sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used nonfat)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 tsp fresh minced garlic
pinch of salt

 The sauce is best made ahead of time so that the flavors can meld together before serving.  Greek yogurt isn't totally necessary, it's just what I always have on hand. If you want to make a salad you could easily make a yogurt dressing with regular yogurt (which is thinner) and add water or even a little bit of lemon juice to make it more "saucy."

There are varying sides that would be a good mate to these--chickpeas and tomato salad is just one suggestion. I made some roasted veggies (red onions, carrots, and mushrooms) to go along with them which I tossed with salt, pepper, olive oil, about a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a good bit of dried oregano.  

The great thing about this recipe is that the patties are pretty versatile. I tend to eat them either as part of a salad or just on top of some romaine lettuce (like in the top photo), but they could easily be made into burgers or sliders, or even meatballs. Also I use the 93% fat free turkey, but you could use the 99%. If you do, I'd probably make sure you don't overcook them at all since it's likely they'd dry out really quickly.

The turkey patties may seem a bit boring, but honestly this is one of my favorite meals. They're easy and have a fresh and healthy, but fulfilling flavor. Let me know if you try them!