Smoked Swiss Turkey Burgers with Eggplant

Last night I made turkey burgers with homemade fries.  I didn't think that burgers and fries would take very long, but from start to finish it took me three hours to make.  I need to start learning to do stuff the Sandra Lee "semi-homemade" way.  I was doing everything off the top of my head so my mom couldn't really lend a hand.  Plus she was tired and deserved to kick back and relax.  What took the longest was getting the burgers cooked.  Originally I wanted to make the burgers double patties, but since they were so big we wouldn't have been able to eat it all.  If I would have decided this beforehand it wouldn't have taken me so long.  I also wanted to make sure that they were fully cooked.  If it were beef I wouldn't be so worried, but since these little guys could have salmonela, I wanted to make sure that they were fully cooked even if that risked them being dry. 


I haven't posted my recipe for fries yet because they haven't been perfected.  This was my first try at homemade fries in the oven and they were just passable.  My mom suggested that I parboil them next time so that they are cooked all the way through before I put them in the oven.  This time some of them were very crispy on the outside and raw in the center or they were well cooked.  I will have to keep experimenting. 

Smoked Swiss Turkey Burger with eggplant 

8 servings 

Ingredients: 

3 lb ground turkey 

2 tbsp sage, minced 

4 tbsp Italian cilantro, minced 

2eggs, scrambled 

salt and pepper to taste 

1 block smoked swiss, thinly sliced 

1 eggplant, thinly sliced 

3 tbsp EVOO 

Salt and pepper to taste 

1 onion, thinly sliced 

5 mushrooms, thinly sliced 

Optional Ingredients: 

lettuce 

tomato, sliced 

pickles 

mayonnaise  

Directions:
Mix of the hamburger components except for the cheese in a large bowl.  When assembling burgers, make a small patty, place two to four slices of cheese on patty and then cover with more meat mixture.  Make a small divot in the center of the burger.  Sear burgers over medium heat in a nonstick frying pan and cover. Reduce heat to low.  You can also do this on a grill.  Cook until burgers feel firm in the middle. 

For eggplant: Drizzle EVOO over eggplant and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  After burgers are completed, add more EVOO to pan.  Pan fry eggplant slices until they are no longer spongy and white.   

For mushrooms and onions: Once eggplant is finished add more EVOO to pan.  Sautee  mushrooms and onions to desired consistency.   

Assemble burgers with desired condiments.