Turkey Patties with Mushrooms, Parsley and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Although I rarely use store ground meat, I’ve had good experience with a local farm product of ground dark turkey meat, and decided to use it once more. This time again, I wanted to add some bold flavors to the somewhat bland meat, and at the same time, add more interesting texture to the patties.

As I had some mushroom Duxelles (sautéed mushrooms paste) at hand, the thought of flavoring the patties with it came to mind. So I added it to the meat, along with more lightly sautéed mushrooms, that added nice earthy aroma, and flavor. A bit of slight acidic sun dried tomatoes paste and Zhoug (spicy cilantro paste) also found their way into the bowl, along with a hefty amount of freshly chopped parsley – and before long these tasty and moist patties were formed.

The patties are perfect for serving as a light lunch, with a small salad on the side, or in hamburger buns or pita bread. Try them and enjoy.

Notes:

* Mushroom Duxelles (click HERE for recipe) add pronounce mushroom flavor and aroma to the patties. If you don’t have it, try store bought, or use some mushroom powder instead.

* Sun dried tomatoes paste can be found in most stores or online. Another option is to finely chop sun dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil.

* Zhoug is a spicy cilantro and jalapeno paste (click HERE for recipe). It is also available in many stores or online.

Makes: 12

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Resting time: 10 minutes

Frying time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

For the mushrooms:

8 oz (227 grams) Baby Bella mushrooms

1 large shallot, peeled and cut into quarters

2Tbs oil

2 tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground four peppers mix

For the Patties:

2 Tbs mushroom Duxelles (optional, see notes)

2 Tbs sun dried tomatoes paste

1 cup chopped parsley

1.04 lbs (470 grams) ground dark turkey meat

1 Tbs Zhoug paste (see notes)

2 L eggs

2/3 cup Panko bread crumbs

¼ cup dried shallots

Oil for frying

For serving:

Lemon wedges

1. Remove the mushrooms legs (keep for stock), place the caps in a food processor bowl, fitted with the metal blade. Add the shallot and process roughly.
2. Heat 2 Tbs oil in a medium pan, over medium-high heat. Add the mushroom-shallot mixture, salt and pepper. Mix and sauté for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft and the liquid evaporated. Let cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl, mix the mushroom Duxelles (see notes) with the sundried tomatoes paste and chopped parsley. Add the meat, Zhoug paste, eggs, breadcrumbs and dried shallots. Cover and keep at room temperature for 10 minutes. Divide the mixture into 10-12 balls, and then flatten them lightly.
4. Heat oil for shallow frying in a large pan, over medium-high heat. Fry until deep brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate line with paper towel, to absorb extra oil.
5. Serve warm, with lemon wedges on the side. (I used the remaining parsley to prepare a quick side salad, as seen in the photos.)