Recipe: Fresh Turkey Spinach Burgers

I love turkey burgers, a lot more than I love regular hamburgers. I'm not much of a red meat eater I guess. But periodically when I buy turkey burgers pre-made they're too dry or under seasoned. It really does depend on the brand. And then I have an even bigger problem in Italy: turkey burgers aren't all that common here. They exist, but you don't see them often in super markets or in restaurants (you see regular hamburgers far more often, although, as you can imagine, they're also not an Italian specialty).
So a couple of weeks ago when I got a craving, I decided to make some turkey burgers for myself and they were perfect. They were juicy and packed with flavor. The also had the additional bonus of being made with fresh vegetables because I added some freshly chopped spinach and red onion to my ground turkey.

My turkey burger collage that I made for my 365 grateful album

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup to 1 cup of fresh spinach (I used about a cup because I love spinach)
1/2 small red onion
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs + extra handy if you see you're mixture is too wet
paprika to taste

Right before mixing

Chop your spinach into small squares or strips (it doesn't matter how evenly you chop the spinach) and
then dice your onions as well.  The thicker you cut your onion, the more crunch you will have in your burger. I didn't cut my onions super finely because I wanted a little more bite.
In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, spinach, onions and paprika with your hands.  Blend well because ideally, each bite will have a little onion and spinach in it.

The perfect sized patties sizzling away. Note: I put a little too much
oil in the pan... but they didn't stick...

When well blended, form into patties. I made mine on the larger (also thicker) side because they shrink slightly as they cook (although not as drastically as beef burgers do). I chose to saute the burgers with a little bit of olive oil in a pan. I am lazy and chose to use the method

that would afford me the least clean up. However, you can also use a grill pan indoors or if it's summer (which we are sooo close to right now) and you have access on an outdoor grill.

The perfect turkey burger!

If you're using a grill pan I recommend using a bit of pam spray so the burgers don't stick too badly, otherwise, cleanup can get quite heavy.  In the winter
(which thankfully has gone away) you can bake them in the oven at 350°F until they brown (I think this would take about 20 minutes to a half hour or so, but I haven't tested it yet, soooo keep an eye on them).

A beautiful plate of deliciousness

When one side has browned, flip and at this point you can also add a slice of cheese if you like and make it a cheese turkey burger.  Cook through and serve warm.
I didn't have buns so I served my burger with toasted bread, a large salad, a little mayo and a spicy sauce on the side.  I felt like eating my turkey burger deconstructed!
My recipe made 4 burgers for me. So I had leftovers for the next couple of meals.