RECIPE: Spinach Turkey Burger

I promised to share my favorite spinach turkey burger recipe a while ago. I made it again the other day and realized I had not yet shared it. I love this recipe for a few reasons: (1) I can eat a burger and feel like it was healthy (2) I looooooove the combination of the spinach with red onion and garlic, (3) I get a great serving of greens and its not a salad.

Really, I'm much more of the type to go out and buy a bacon double cheeseburger. So, I was shocked to find this recipe hit the "burger button" spot in a big way for me without a problem.

This is a simple, easy, hearty, healthy recipe. When I discovered it a couple of months ago it was an immediate hit. Often I'm underwhelmed by a recipe or overwhelmed by the intricacies of the instructions, but this recipe is straightforward and simple. I love those kind of recipes.

Typically, I find myself at the grocery store stocking up for the week and unless I have my menus for the week mapped out I will return home having forgotten one essential ingredient for some recipe. This recipe is so easy though, I doubt I will forget anything.

My version is a variation on this recipe from SparksPeople.com. Mostly, I cut the feta cheese and replaced the frozen spinach with fresh spinach. I think the fresh spinach is much yummier.

Spinach Turkey Burger

• 2 teaspoons grapeseed oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 box or bag, 5 ounces, fresh spinach
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, lightly crushed in the palm
• 8-10 thin slices mozzarella cheese (I use almond mozzarella)
• 1 1/3 pounds ground turkey breast,
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Salt-Free Steak Seasoning by McCormick)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. To one side, add a little grapeseed oil, add the chopped garlic and chopped red onion and cook 5 minutes. Transfer the onions and garlic to a bowl to cool. Return pan to heat. Add grapeseed oil to pan and then add fresh spinach without stems. Cook over medium heat until spinach wilts about 3-5 minutes. Add the spinach to the bowl with cool onions and garlic and season with 1 teaspoon of oregano. Add in ground turkey, grill seasoning and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Mix and form into 8 small to medium patties, 1-inch thick. Raise heat on pan to medium-high. Add patties and cook 6 min on each side. Or you can grill on an indoor grill for 5 minutes. Add mozzarella slices to top of patties and melt them for 1-2 minutes.

Makes 8 small burgers or 4 large burgers.

Note: The original recipe said to cook the onions and garlic in extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat, but extra-virgin olive oil is not made for sauteeing things at high heat, so I use grapeseed oil to sautee the onions, garlic and spinach. Still adds a great flavor but grapeseed oil can withstand the higher temperatures. You could use an olive oil made for high heat temperatures, but you might want to try grapeseed oil and see if you like it too.