Bunless Turkey Burgers with Tomato-Avocado Salsa

I thawed some ground turkey the other day, and since its the middle of grilling season, burgers it was. I have no qualms about mixing things right into my burger meat, and turkey burgers do need some add-ins to keep them moist and flavorful. You can really experiment with the seasonings I have listed here and adjust to what you have on hand. The onion really helps keep the burgers moist, and the red pepper flakes add the right amount of spice without being too hot; but certainly adapt to your own tastes!

A side note: I don't eat buns. Not on my burgers or my hot dogs/sausages. (Admittedly, I do it mostly to save on the calories and carbs, and I would rather load up on some flavorful toppings.) Since we don't have burgers that often and I wasn't about to buy a pack of buns for just Josh, he also had a bun-less fate this evening. Having said that, I'm sure there are plenty of carby-rolls that this burger would be yummy on, but lettuce does it for us!

Turkey Burgers with Tomato-Avocado Salsa

burger adapted from Rachel Ray's 365: No Repeats (Cacciatore Burger)

For the burgers:
~1.3 lb ground turkey (could also use ground chicken)
1 egg white
3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

For the salsa
1 vine ripe tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 of an avocado, chopped
1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
splash of lime juice (juice from 1/2 lime is plenty)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a bowl, mix turkey with all burger ingredients listed. Work the ingredients into the meat, but don't over-mix - your meat will become tough. Divide the mixture into 4 sections and shape into burger patties.

2. Grill patties until they are cooked throughout - this is poultry, there is no medium-rare here!! Pink is a bad thing!

3. While grilling, combine salsa ingredients in a small bowl.

4. When done, plate your burgers and top with a heaping spoonful of the salsa. Enjoy!

REVIEW:

These were great! My patties were a little puffy, but putting a thumb-indent in the middle of them before grilling would help with that. We served with some grilled zucchini and summer squash, and it was an awesome light, summery dinner, and came together rather quickly!