Southwest Turkey Burgers and Jicama Slaw

Two hundred!!!! This is my 200th post. I can NOT believe it. When I started this blog in January 2009, I was skeptical that I'd even meet my goal of posting for a full year. Now, almost 20 months later, I'm still hugely motivated to try new recipes with the intent of showcasing them on this blog! It seems there are unlimited ways to eat great food with real ingredients and I'll keep on posting about my experiments as long as I can. Thanks for playing along!

It's been crazy hot this week in Minneapolis. My teeny air-conditioner has been chugging away, giving a valiant effort to combat the humidity while I enjoy no-cook or grilled dinners. Since I'm feeling sympathetic to those in the Southwest U.S. who frequently deal with this kind of heat, I'm paying homage to those brave souls tonight with my Southwest Turkey Burger.

Usually, when I make turkey burgers, I add dried cranberries and feta cheese. Those salty/sweet burgers are fantastic! But to make these burgers southwestern, I decided to add beans, veggies, and spices.

Turkey burgers are so lean that they can sometimes end up dry. To keep my burgers moist, I grated in about a quarter of a red onion. To that, I added some leftover grilled balsamic red pepper, a half cup of home cooked black beans, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. On top of each toasty bun and grilled turkey burger, I added some mashed avocado spiked with lime juice, a spoonful of roasted salsa, and some pickled jalapenos. SO GOOD.

Southwest Turkey Burgers

1.25 lbs lean ground turkey

1/4 red onion, grated

1/2 cup black beans

1/2 roasted red pepper (or grilled)

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together gently, form 4 patties and grill 3-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Place on toasted bun and top with lettuce, avocado, salsa, and pickled jalapenos.

The burgers were hot and savory, so I needed a cool side dish. This jicama slaw was a great accompaniment - mildly sweet, super crunchy, and very veggie. If you've never had jicama, just know it has sort of a sweet carroty taste but with a waterier texture. I love it and find it to be very refreshing.

Jicama Slaw (adapted from Bobby Flay)

1 medium jicama root, peeled and cut into matchsticks

2 large carrots, peeled and grated

1 small red chili pepper, seeded and chopped finely

2 slices red onion, diced finely

1 handful cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 juicy lime

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 healthy squeeze honey

2 Tbsp olive oil

pinch of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together and enjoy! It gets better the longer it sits.

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