Harissa Turkey Burgers

We're just back from a fantastic holiday on the Suffolk coast. The weather was unseasonally wonderful - we ate lunch outside, picnicked on the beach and have even come home with slight suntans. Incredible! We took advantage of the row of fishermen's huts on the beach at Aldeburgh to feast on deliciously fresh fish each night and enjoyed every minute. I'll be sharing one or two of our fishy feasts later in the week, but today I want to tell you about the turkey burgers we enjoyed with our Greek Salad a few nights before we headed off.

We love burgers in all their forms but, in an attempt to be healthy-ish, we try not to indulge ourselves too often. We are always on the lookout for healthier alternatives to some of our favourite dishes and this prompted me to make some burgers from turkey breast mince. To spice these up somewhat, I added a generous dollop of harissa which gave these burgers a fantastic, exotic flavour. Paired with crisp little gem lettuce leaves and a smear or coriander-flecked yoghurt, these were extremely tasty. My only criticism would be that they were perhaps a little on the dry side - the downside of opting for a leaner meat.

This is what I did....

Harissa Turkey Burgers
Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:

450g turkey breast mince

1 red onion

1 generous tbsp harissa

Burger buns, rolls or small ciabatta
Iceburg lettuce
4 tbsp plain low-fat yoghurt, creme fraiche or mayonnaise (or more, if you like)
Generous handful coriander

1. Place mince in a large bowl. Grate the onion into the bowl, add the harissa (use more or less to taste) and stir together thoroughly. This is easiest done with the hands, if a little messy.

2. Shape the mixture into burgers, brush with a touch of oil and grill, griddle or BBQ for around 15-20 minutes until cooked through.

3. Meanwhile, chop the coriander and mix into the yoghurt (or creme fraiche or mayo). Make more if you feel like it - there were just two of us. Toast/warm the buns and split in half.

4. Assemble the burgers! Layer them up with the lettuce, burger and coriander yoghurt mix. A big slice of tomato wouldn't go amiss either.