Birthday Burgers

A. had very different food tastes when we first met. As a compulsive gym rat and former competitive weightlifter, his main focus was low fat, high protein. So, he thought canned tuna and a protein shake were perfectly acceptable meals. And then I came along and ruined it. He can't even look at canned tuna anymore, although the protein shakes do reappear every now and then.

I'll admit to being a bit of a gym junkie myself, and I'm all for the high-protein-low-fat diet, so one of the things I introduced A. to early on was the HPLF version of the traditional burger: the turkey burger. Much healthier. And, over the years, I've played with and tweaked the recipe quite a bit, depending on what I have in my fridge. The harissa I picked up in London has been a staple all summer, and I've started adding a hint of chili powder to give the burgers a slight kick at the end. The burgers I made last night, I have to admit, were pretty damn good, which is especially good, because they were the burgers A. specially requested for his birthday. I think it's a recipe I'll keep.

Birthday Burgers

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp harissa
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Divide into four pieces. Take each piece and form into a ball. Toss the ball between your hands to really bring the meat together (an old trick I learned from my great aunt when making meatballs. Her meatballs never crumbled in the sauce). Pat each ball down into a patty. Grill until cooked through.

We usually serve these on whole wheat buns with sriracha or, as we did last night, horseradish mustard from our local Amish market. Feel free to pile on the toppings of your choice, anything goes!