Here’s a little scenario that recurs every time I meal plan over the weekend:
“Anthony, anything you want me to make for dinner this week?”
“Pretzel buns! Anything with pretzel buns…could you go to Costco and get some pretzel buns?”
The man is obsessed.
I get it. Pretzel buns are freaking awesome. Ever since they first showed up at our Costco a year or two ago, we have succumbed to their siren song of chewy, salty deliciousness on a semi-regular basis (though not as regularly as Anthony apparently would like). When we initially bought the mega-pack of a dozen or so buns, I figured I would freeze about half of them for future use, but no, we have consistently used the ENTIRE bag in a matter of days. We even took them on our recent trip to Disneyland to eat as snacks throughout our day in the park. And yeah, they were gone in the first 24 hours.
So when Anthony repeated his request for meals involving pretzel buns last week, I decided turkey burger sliders sounded like a tasty way to incorporate that all-important ingredient. But plain ol’ regular turkey burgers? Never! Special buns call for special burgers! Besides, unadorned turkey burgers can be pretty blah. That’s where this concoction of Mediterranean burger flair comes in. Yes, I am aware that “Mediterranean” + “burger” may be a contradiction in terms…I can’t think of any Mediterranean nations that are known for their signature burgers–the Lebanese Burger? the Croatian Burger?–but, you know, go with me on this one. You can’t go wrong with adding flavors like garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil to meat, in my opinion. (Additional evidence here.) Topped with a piquant garlic-feta aioli, these were a slice of Mediterranean meat heaven…or should I say a pretzel bun of Mediterranean meat heaven? Either way, I will absolutely be making these again, probably for company, and probably very often, if our bun consumption continues at its current rate.
P.S. These can be made into regular-sized burgers as well as sliders, of course.
P.P.S. Aren’t you proud of me for not making any jokes about buns throughout this entire post?
Mediterranean Turkey Burgers with Garlic Feta Aioli
(Burgers A Love Letter to Food Original; Aioli from from Cooking Light)
Ingredients:
For the burgers:
1 1/3 lb. ground turkey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried parsley
1 egg
3/4 c. Panko bread crumbs
4 cloves garlic
1/2 c. sundried tomatoes (not in oil)
5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
6 whole wheat buns for regular-sized burgers or 12 pretzel rolls for sliders
For the Garlic Feta Aioli:
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Directions:
- Preheat a grill for medium-high heat.
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, egg, and Panko until well mixed.
- Place 4 garlic cloves, sundried tomatoes, and thawed spinach in the bowl of a food processor. Process briefly until tomatoes and garlic are chopped fine. Add to turkey mixture and stir well to combine.
- Using your hands, divide the mixture into 6 large patties (for burgers) or 12 small patties (for sliders). Grill 3-4 minutes per side for sliders, 5-6 minutes per side for regular-sized burgers.
- Prepare the aioli: blend all ingredients with an immersion blender or in a food processor.
- Assemble burgers and top with aioli.
Serves 6.
