I see a lot of posts about Turkey mince as a ‘healthy’ ‘low fat’ meat especially among a certain dare I say slightly fanatical group of fitness people who seem to be very focused only on this aspect of their food but often not that interested in flavour, taste or indeed how food looks. I have to say I’m more interested in knowing that my food has come from a good source, contains good fats not bad fats, is as close to nature as it can be and that when I cook with it, its going to taste delicious, look delicious (we eat with our eyes too!) as well as offering me good nutrition.

So Turkey in a burger, – A common sin with this meat is ending up with a dry tasteless piece of meat. Because it is so low in fat, the meat can easily end up overcooked and dry. The trick is to add as much as possible by way of flavour and moistness in the preparation and then don’t overcook it if you can. I was nervous in the past myself cooking poultry to ensure that it was fully cooked so I just use a meat thermometer now and that takes all the guess work out of it. This Thai spin on the common burger offers great flavour, a nice kick of heat and lovely moistness. Easy peasy too – serve with some root vegetables and in this case a mix of some home made mayo and harissa.

Makes about 5 medium burgers
500gr turkey meat minced
2 spring onions -finely sliced
1 tbsp red curry paste or sambal oelek
Juice of a lime and zest of half of it
1 tbsp each of fish and soy sauce
1 chili deseeded and finely chopped
A heaped tbsp each of chopped coriander and flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive or rapeseed oil for frying

Tip the mince, spring onions, curry paste and herbs into a blender and pulse to combine and breakdown the turkey a little;
Tip into a bowl and add seasonings- juice, sauces , and salt and pepper;
Heat a pan with oil and when hot fry a small blob of the mix on both sides until cooked through;
Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed – I always do this – why end up with bland tasting meat if you can check and adjust the seasonings with this simple step.
Shape into burgers and fry on both sides until golden brown, complete the cooking in the oven at 180C for about 10 minutes depending on thickness. Cook to 74C in the centre using a meat thermometer.
Delicious with a big green salad or some baked root vegetables such as sweet potato or parsnip

We even had enough for leftovers and sliced the burgers the next day into a big salad with sharon fruit, beef tomatoes, mixed leaves, toasted pine nuts, and some San Daniele ham… delicious!