Green Tomatoes (this time in a burger) just keep happy-ing up our lives

Green tomatoes are wriggling their way into just about everything on our dinner table this summer. After Southern Living in a back issue featured inventive ways to use this delicacy, then in its most recent edition it slipped in another green-tomato recipe: Green Tomato Feta Burgers. As I’ve already blogged, I love nothing better than a hamburger and always seek ways to put a new twist on them. This did it!

The magazine first featured a recipe for Best Turkey Burgers, which forms the basis for the other burger dress-ups that follow. The basic burger involves ground turkey, salt or salt substitute, lemon zest, mayo, and fresh parsley.

Then, for the reset of the story, SL recommended adding a container of feta cheese, red onion, and minced oregano. Burger patties shaped from this mixture then go on the grill. A word of warning that because these are turkey burgers, their ability to stay constituted into a pattie and not crumble is compromised a little, so better use a greased piece of aluminum foil or a grilling pan to help hold them together.

The result was a burger to end all burgers, warm and even a little crusty from the grill. And where do the green tomatoes, straight from my garden’s tomato rows, fit in? They’re toppings along with a thinly sliced cucumber (I used an avocado instead) and a shake of red pepper flakes.

As the magazine touts, this recipe takes this backyard basic to new heights. Even the crumbly parts that didn’t make the core pattie were wonders to behold.

Green Tomato-Feta Burger

2 pounds lean ground turkey

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 cup lite mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 (4-ounce) container crumbled feta cheese

1 tablespoon finely minced red onion

1 teaspoon minced oregano

Preheat grill to 350 to 400 degrees (medium-high) heat. Combine ingredients gently. Shape mixture into 6 (5-inch) patties. Grill, covered with grill lid, 6 to 7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 170 degrees. Top each burger with sliced green tomatoes, lettuce, thinly sliced cucumber or avocado, a pinch of dried crushed red pepper, and a fresh dill sprig.