Lebanese-Inspired Chicken Burgers
02::tap tap tap:: Is this thing on?
Yikes, it’s been a while since I’ve updated. Between the extreme heat, going out of town, eating already-blogged things, going out to dinner and…well, you get the point, poor little vox has been neglected. And, so have the blogs I read because at last check, my google reader had well over 300 new items. Oops!
So with all that said, I knew it was time for an update, and not just an update but a healthy update because of all the bad-for-you food I’ve been eating lately. I decided to make some healthy chicken burgers. The’re good for you, and totally hit the spot. These burgers are reminiscent of chicken shawarma, which is one of my favorite meals on the planet (as the staff at the nearby Lebanese knows all too well).
And, because this burger is some good eats, I am submitting this over to Ivy and Ben who are hosting Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets. This meal is packed with protein and lots of nutrition but is low in fat and calories. Like Ivy says, eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring or difficult. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I made this blog and post nutritional information for the majority of my recipes. I promise you, Tom and I don’t eat boring food day in and day out. 🙂
Lebanese-Inspired Chicken Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
Printer Friendly Recipe
1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 heaping Tbsp. fat free plain yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 heaping tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ground sumac
salt and pepper
4 mini whole wheat pitas, split and warmed
Tahini Yogurt Sauce
1/4 cup plain fat free yogurt (Greek is best because you don’t sacrifice creaminess)
1 Tbsp. tahini
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced/pressed
salt and a just a little pepper
Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients. Allow the sauce to sit as you prepare and cook the burgers, so the flavors can marry.
To make the burgers, combine all ingredients and mix–but don’t overmix. Form into 4 patties. Spray your grill or grill pan with some olive oil and grill the burgers for about 5 minutes per side, or until done.
Place the cooked patties in the pita pocket, along with any garnishes you’d like and top with the tahini-yogurt sauce.
Nutritional Information Per Burger (using a combo of white and dark meat will increase the calories by about 100 and the fat by about 10g): Calories: 240 / Fat: 3.3g / Carbs: 23g / Protein: 31g
Bit too much lemon flavor for my tastes & the juice caused denaturation of the chicken meat. I doubled the recipe and maybe my lemon was too big, I’m not sure. But still I liked the idea in general, and it has lots of potential. Next time I’ll be adding lemon zest instead of the juice. I think it’ll give it a cleaner flavor and add abit of color clash. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ll surely be trying some more from here.