Turkey Burgers with a Pea-Basil-Parsley Pesto

My twin sister, Holly, and I made some delicious turkey burgers tonight with a 
pea-basil-parsley pesto.  This was a super easy recipe that you have to try!  It is a low carb healthy turkey burger and pesto - keep it low carb or serve it on a toasted ciabatta role, and you have a perfect dinner!

Pea pesto Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 handful flat leaf Italian parsley
• 1 handful fresh basil
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt & pepper

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Take 1 cup of frozen peas and run them under hot water to thaw them.

Add the peas, garlic, pine nuts, parsley, basil, grated parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper to your Cuisinart.  Make sure to taste it just in case you need more salt and olive oil - that could be the answer to make sure it tastes OK!

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Delicious pea pesto!  Put aside for when you are ready to use.  The lemon juice should help to keep it's green vibrant color.  How easy and beautiful!  The pesto reminded us of a combination of pesto and a chimi-churi sauce. I posted about a chimi-churi sauce David and I made in a different article on this blog.  The pesto we made tonight has a great garlicy flavor and adds something to any dish - you could put this on crostinis for a great appetizer, maybe with a dollop of fresh ricotta cheese (I see a future post!), or on a grilled chicken breast or grilled steak.  

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Now for the turkey burgers!
Ingredients:

• Lean Turkey meat (I used two packages of Jennie-O Extra Lean (which is 99% fat free) - if you use just one package, cut the ingredients in half - this makes about 6 large burgers - they make for delicious leftovers 
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• Fresh italian leaf parsley, chopped
• Fresh basil, chopped
• 3 sprigs of green onion, diced
• Dried herbs (pinch of each):  seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, dried basil, paprika

Mix ingredients together - hands are the best tools for this - (make sure not to over mix, as this makes the meat tough!)  Get a hot pan sizzling hot ready with some olive oil so that you can sear the patties.  Be sure to place them on the hot pan, and don't move them for as long as possible, so they get that nice brown crust on them!

Getting that nice crust on the burgers!

If you are using buns, always make sure to butter and brown them, preferably in the same pan that you cooked the burgers to get that extra flavor!

My sous chef, twin sister Holly! It was so nice to have Holly helping here tonight, chopping all of the ingredients for the burgers and providing her expert input!

The finished product!  Melt your favorite cheese over the burgers, after searing them for 3-4 minutes on each side.  It is best to cover with a lid so the cheese can melt with the steam.  We used colby jack cheese - a nice mellow cheese that won't hide too much flavor of the burger but provide that cheesy goodness that we all crave on a burger.  I served on a toasted ciabatta bun - put a bit of mayonnaise (I always use the real thing), add the pea pesto, sliced heirloom tomato and red onion.  Enjoy!!! 

David chose the low carb option without the bun - just as delicious!