Sofrito Turkey Burgers
No pics tonight. Don't be sad. I just wanted to tell you what I made for dinner tonight, since it was a new recipe and a fun experiment.
I was trying my friend Zoraida's sofrito turkey burger recipe. According to Wikipedia, within the context of Spanish cuisine, sofrito consists of garlic, onion, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil, and is used as the base for many dishes.
For this recipe, I had 1 lb of ground turkey (I used lean but not the 99% extra lean because you want the meat to be a bit juicier than the extra lean will be). Plan off of that for measurement purposes.
First I chopped up 1/4 of a yellow onion, diced a tomato (finely) and chopped a clove of garlic. Ok, I chopped two but my friend's recipe only called for one. I like a lot of garlic...so sue me. I only used half the tomato and I probably could've used the whole thing, but I got scared because it looked like too much tomato. In hindsight, it would've been fine. Be proud of me though---I chopped the onion without crying at all. Go me! I think part of that is because I've gotten so much better at chopping, with all the practice I've gotten from the garlic, that 1/4 an onion went pretty quickly, before the aroma could really hit my eyes.
I started by heating up some olive oil in the pan. Maybe 2 tablespoons. Then I sauteed the chopped onion until it was soft (but not burning) and then tossed in the tomato and garlic. I sauteed everything together until it was soft and mushy (kinda like the consistency of the tomatoes and herbs in my stuffed pepper recipe). Then I turned off the heat. That's sofrito.
Now you have to let the sofrito cool (but not get cold) before you mix it into the raw ground turkey. You don't want it to be too hot because it'll cook the turkey meat in the bowl. Once you mix everything together (use your hands - don't be dainty), cover the bowl and let it all sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes or more. This will let the flavors all blend together with each other. Then you take it out and make burger patties, which you can cook however you normally cook burgers. I usually use the George Forman, but I got nervous about all the flavor dripping away (since I was already using lean turkey) so I did it in my grill pan instead. Ugh and now I have to wash my frying pan AND my grill pan and a buttload of other dishes. Why don't I have a maid again?
I ate two little ones on whole wheat buns with American cheese and ketchup. Yum! Zoraida, on the other hand, prefers her sofrito turkey burgers (from what I can remember) with a slice of ham, some pineapple spread (gag) and thin buns (I tried to find some, but they only had whole-grain or something chunky and oat-ish, and I was not in the mood). She told me that's how they served them to her in Ecuador last time she visited.
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NEED SUGGESTIONS:
By the way, I've noticed that most of my recipes involve tomatoes and I have a friend who is allergic to tomatoes. I would love to have her over for dinner and cook for her, but I'm not sure what to make. Any suggestions would be outstanding. I may make the porkchops for her, since there's nothing in those she can't eat (I don't think) but I'd like to try something new if I can.
I also bought a family pack of Beef Eye Round Steaks at the store a few weeks ago, which are getting bored in my freezer. Any ideas what I should do with them? I may just salt and pepp them up and try something new for a side instead (maybe brussel sprouts?) but suggestions are, again, very welcome.
I was trying my friend Zoraida's sofrito turkey burger recipe. According to Wikipedia, within the context of Spanish cuisine, sofrito consists of garlic, onion, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil, and is used as the base for many dishes.
For this recipe, I had 1 lb of ground turkey (I used lean but not the 99% extra lean because you want the meat to be a bit juicier than the extra lean will be). Plan off of that for measurement purposes.
First I chopped up 1/4 of a yellow onion, diced a tomato (finely) and chopped a clove of garlic. Ok, I chopped two but my friend's recipe only called for one. I like a lot of garlic...so sue me. I only used half the tomato and I probably could've used the whole thing, but I got scared because it looked like too much tomato. In hindsight, it would've been fine. Be proud of me though---I chopped the onion without crying at all. Go me! I think part of that is because I've gotten so much better at chopping, with all the practice I've gotten from the garlic, that 1/4 an onion went pretty quickly, before the aroma could really hit my eyes.
I started by heating up some olive oil in the pan. Maybe 2 tablespoons. Then I sauteed the chopped onion until it was soft (but not burning) and then tossed in the tomato and garlic. I sauteed everything together until it was soft and mushy (kinda like the consistency of the tomatoes and herbs in my stuffed pepper recipe). Then I turned off the heat. That's sofrito.
Now you have to let the sofrito cool (but not get cold) before you mix it into the raw ground turkey. You don't want it to be too hot because it'll cook the turkey meat in the bowl. Once you mix everything together (use your hands - don't be dainty), cover the bowl and let it all sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes or more. This will let the flavors all blend together with each other. Then you take it out and make burger patties, which you can cook however you normally cook burgers. I usually use the George Forman, but I got nervous about all the flavor dripping away (since I was already using lean turkey) so I did it in my grill pan instead. Ugh and now I have to wash my frying pan AND my grill pan and a buttload of other dishes. Why don't I have a maid again?
I ate two little ones on whole wheat buns with American cheese and ketchup. Yum! Zoraida, on the other hand, prefers her sofrito turkey burgers (from what I can remember) with a slice of ham, some pineapple spread (gag) and thin buns (I tried to find some, but they only had whole-grain or something chunky and oat-ish, and I was not in the mood). She told me that's how they served them to her in Ecuador last time she visited.
-------------
NEED SUGGESTIONS:
By the way, I've noticed that most of my recipes involve tomatoes and I have a friend who is allergic to tomatoes. I would love to have her over for dinner and cook for her, but I'm not sure what to make. Any suggestions would be outstanding. I may make the porkchops for her, since there's nothing in those she can't eat (I don't think) but I'd like to try something new if I can.
I also bought a family pack of Beef Eye Round Steaks at the store a few weeks ago, which are getting bored in my freezer. Any ideas what I should do with them? I may just salt and pepp them up and try something new for a side instead (maybe brussel sprouts?) but suggestions are, again, very welcome.