Chicken (Turkey) Parmesan Burgers

Chicken Parmesan Burgers from The Epicurious.com
10 1/2-inch-thick slices French bread (4 inches in diameter); 8 slices toasted, 2 slices (crust removed) diced

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons minced fresh basil, divided, plus 12 large basil leaves
3/4 cup purchased refrigerated marinara sauce
12 ounces ground chicken (white meat)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
4 large radicchio leaves

Directions:  Blend diced bread and Parmesan in processor to fine crumbs. Transfer to pie dish; mix in 2 tablespoons minced basil.

Mix marinara and 2 tablespoons basil in small saucepan. Transfer 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce to large bowl. Add chicken, 1/2 tablespoon oil, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle with pepper; blend. Shape into four 1/2-inch-thick patties; coat with crumbs. Heat sauce over low heat.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook patties until bottoms are crusty, 4 minutes. Turn patties over; top with cheese. Cook 3 minutes. Cover; cook until cooked through and cheese is melted, about 1 minute.

Assemble burgers with bread, radicchio, basil leaves, and warm marinara.

Modifications:
-I used ground turkey instead of chicken.
-I uesd Italian bread crumbs instead of making my own.
-I used shredded mozzarella cheese since that is what I had on hand.
-I used 9 whole grain Italian bread.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I poured the marinara sauce into a sauce pan.  I minced some fresh basil and then put 2 Tbsps of the basil in with the marinara sauce.

#2 Spooned out about 1 1/2 Tbsps of the mixture into a separate bowl.

#3 I grated about 1 Tbsps of onion into the bowl. 

#4 Next came the ground turkey.

#5 I formed the mixture into 3 patties.  I used 1lb of ground turkey.

#6 I rolled the patties in some Italian bread crumbs.

#7 They went into a skillet with some olive oil.  They cooked for about 4 minutes on that side, until they started to crust up.  Then I flipped them over and added some shredded mozzarella cheese.

#8 I covered the burgers so the cheese would melt and let them cook for another 4 minutes or so. 

#9 While the burgers were finishing up, I cut up some 9 grain Italian bread and threw the slices into the oven to toast up.

The Finished Product:

Review:

"Those were awesome!"  Those were the first words that came out of Scott's mouth when we were finished with dinner.  I guess I could just stop right there.  LOL

Even though these burgers were really, really good they were also really hard to work with.  They were really "loose" and wanted to fall apart.  After I got the initial crust on them, I realized that I had probably made them too thick and the middle was not cooking.  I committed the ultimate burger cardinal sin and I split them open and turned the insides facing down so they could actually cook (they had been on for about 13 minutes at this point).  Once they were finished, I just put 2 sides on the bread and covered it with the marinara sauce and basil.  Scott couldn't tell the difference.

As I've stated before, I'm not a basil fan but I am determined to adapt!

I served these burgers with yummy oven-roasted sweet potatoes--cube up some sweet potatoes, add about 1/4 cup of olive oil to coat, liberal salt/pepper and throw into a 475 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Stir at about 15 minute mark.

Hope you enjoy!

April

*****(5 Stars)--This dish was fantastic!