The Fanciest Turkey Burger I've Ever Had

Last month, I went to visit my sister who is currently doing a study abroad program in Paris.  Since it was her spring break, and since I've already been to Paris, we decided to meet up in London and explore the British Isles.  While in London, we visited the Borough Market for lunch.  Besides the usual produce for sale, a few vendors were cooking up food for the local lunch crowd.  This is a recreation of a delicious chicken burger we had.  I was quite impressed by the simple yet flavor-packet street food London has to offer.

Ingredients

- Meat for turkey burgers (For whatever reason, I could not find ground chicken when I was trying to make these, so I got ground turkey instead.  I got the pre-shaped ones, since I didn't know exactly what I was doing.  And because it was on sale.  I wish I got the bulk ground turkey because the burgers shrink up more than ground beef).

- Sweet chili sauce

- Light mayonnaise

- Arugula, aka rocket (best if fresh)

- Light flakey buns 

1. Cook your burgers.  Make sure they are fully cooked, especially if cooking a thicker patty.  Remember, poultry cannot be slightly raw!

2. Toast your buns.  Let them cool slightly before putting condiments on.  No one likes warm mayo...

3.  Spread mayo on the bottom bun, and then drizzle with the sweet chili sauce.  Add the arugula, place the patty, and top with the top bun.

4.  Enjoy!

The actual chicken burger I got in London

The woman making these burgers in London said they usually come with salsa, but she was out.  I have no idea what the British interpretation of salsa is, but it was totally delicious without it.  The one I got in London was a pretty thick chicken patty, and having more meat actually helps balance all the other flavors (compared to my thin turkey patty I made).  So I would really recommend a thicker [well cooked!] patty.  

Also, I found out, that the bitterness of arugula depends on how big the leaf is.  The smaller the leaf, the more bitter.  We have an arugula plant in our vegetable garden, and used some of the slightly bigger leaves.  But for as many leaves as we're getting off that plant, I am amazed at how expensive that stuff is at the store.  But it is a great alternative to lettuce.  Definitely adds a more distinct flavor!

While I made the burgers, my boyfriend made a healthier alternative to french fries: baked herb potato rounds.  You can kinda see them in the picture above.  He just arranged them in a baking dish, sprinkles with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and grated parmesean cheese.  The rosemary and thyme were freshly picked from our garden as well, so the flavors were pretty amazing.  Now if only we had a fresh turkey for the burgers....