Apple Cheddar Turkey Burger with Roasted Tomato Tahini Sauce

As a foodie I am constantly looking for the best restaurants and food related activities, especially when I'm traveling.  Recently I came across an epic food tour, it is a tour of all the famous restaurants in Seinfeld.  Including the famous Tom's Restaurant with the big salad, and The Original Soup Man famous for the soup Nazi.  Check out the tour here and next time you are in New York I would suggest you hit up at least one of these locations for a bit of nostalgia.  In more local news I recently read about a vegan cheese shop in Portland called Vtopia and it sounds pretty enticing.  Don't get me wrong I love real cheese made with dairy but I am fascinated with the idea of nut cheeses because nuts are so rich and fatty I bet they are pretty comparable flavor to the real thing.  I will definitely need to check this place out sooner than later.  Speaking of vegan OSU's researchers have discovered a red seaweed that tastes like bacon!  I love seaweed anyway so this gives me just one more reason, read about it here.  Let's get to the cooking, my friends and I adapted this recipe for last night's amazing meal.  It was so filling and tasty that I am wishing I had more right now.  Enjoy.

Serves 4

The Ingredient

Apple Cheddar Turkey Burgers:
1 lb ground turkey
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup cubed sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and shredded
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Roasted Tomato Tahini Sauce:
12 cherry tomatoes
5 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Pinch cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Olive oil


The Process
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Then in large bowl combine ground turkey, onion, cheddar, Dijon mustard, shredded apple, salt and pepper. With dampened hands shape into 4 burgers (you can also make meatballs if you feel like.)

2.  When oven is hot place tomatoes tossed in olive oil in a pan and place that pan in the oven.  You will roast the tomatoes for about 10 minutes tossing once in a while until just starting to shrivel.


3.  When tomatoes are done place them in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.  Now re-grease the same pan and place the 4 burgers in it.  Bake these in the oven for a total of 20 minutes, flipping once after 10 minutes.

4.  While the burgers are cooking take the bowl of roasted tomatoes and add in the tahini, white wine vinegar, cayenne, and salt.  With a blender or an immersion blender mix this combination until smooth and set aside.

5.  When burgers are done place on a plate and serve with as much of the roasted tomato tahini sauce as you want!