Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Chicken Burgers

This post marks two things in the history of this blog: the second month of blogging (whoo, sticking to it!) and my first recipe using meat. The truth is, while I’m not a vegetarian, I eat very little meat when I’m cooking for myself. It’s expensive, the raw stuff kind of grosses me out, and sometimes meat is just not what it’s cracked up to be. (Don’t tell Ron Swanson.)

But I recently remembered some chicken burgers I’d made last year, with salty feta cheese and Italian dressing, and I wanted to recreate it, but with more flavor and all-natural ingredients. It seemed like a good recipe for these cold winter months, reminiscent of summer without having to pull out a grill in the freezing cold air.

These burgers turned out even better than I expected. It’s one of my favorite meals I’ve made in a while, filling and flavorful and different. It seems like a lot of steps, but it really comes together pretty easily and the results are so very worth it. You should make it tonight.

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Chicken Burgers

Makes 8 burgers

1 red pepper

1 large piece of bread

1/3 cup milk

1 lb. ground chicken (You can also substitute turkey if you wish)

1 egg, lightly beaten

½ onion, chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

½ cup feta cheese

To roast the red pepper, turn your oven to broil and place the pepper on a baking pan on the top rack, flipping every 5 minutes until it is black and charred. While it’s cooking, tear your bread (it can be totally stale, that’s fine) into small pieces into a bowl and pour the milk over. To be honest, I didn’t measure; I just poured the milk over until all of the bread was soaked.

Cut the pepper in half and deseed, then gently peel the skin off – I was able to do this with my fingers – and chop into small pieces. Set aside.

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in small pan and sauté the onions and garlic until soft and slightly browned.

Drain excess milk from bread. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until combined. It will look gross. Be thankful I didn’t take any pictures of this.

Heat a large frying pan with a touch of olive oil on medium heat. Scoop the chicken mixture by 1/3 cup and drop onto the pan. Using your spatula, flatten it until it’s about three inches in diameter. Cook for 2 ½ – 3 minutes on each side. If desired, let rest in the pan, away from heat, for about two minutes for extra flavor and juiciness.

Serving suggestions: I served mine on a toasted bun with spring mix and avocado smashed with lime juice and garlic salt. I imagine that caramelized onions, spinach, sautéed mushrooms, bacon, or a myriad of other things would be delicious on this.