Leftover turkey miniburgers

Are you always looking for recipes to use your Thanksgiving leftovers – that wouldn’t taste anything like turkey? Here is one that will twist it into fun for everybody. Do you still have some celery sticks, peppers from your veggie/dipping appetizers? More mashed potatoes? No problem. Just add few ingredients into your food processor and you’re ready to serve dinner in no time.

Leftover turkey miniburgers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of medium sized onion
1 garlic clove
1 green or red bell pepper, seeded
2 celery sticks
handful of parsley
2 cups of cubed turkey meat white, dark or both
1 cup of mashed potatoes
1 egg
salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese for coating the meatballs
Oil

If you want to try this recipe and don’t have any turkey meat anymore, you can substitute with deli turkey breast or turkey ham.

Add first six ingredients into your food processor and process with few pulses. Don’t grate it until completely mashed. Empty the food processor into a large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients, season with salt and pepper and mix with your hands.

Prepare 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs mixed with a little bit of Parmesan cheese on plate so you can roll your meatballs in it. Form meatballs in your hands (about the size of ping-pong ball) and flatten them a little. Roll in breadcrumbs mixture, shake excess breadcrumbs and set aside.

Heat oil in frying pan. Place your meatballs into hot oil and fry about 1-2 minutes on each size, or until browned. You don’t have to worry about cooking through since all the ingredients are already cooked (I know, except veggies). Place cooked meatballs on paper towel to drain excess oil and serve with creamy spinach or other favorite veggies of your choice.

Wine pairing suggestion:
Turkey meat and mashed potato makes this meal taste delicate. I made my own creamy spinach to go with it and that changed to taste profile a bit. I would suggest a bigger, creamy white wine to pair this dish with, such as 100% estate-grown Logan Chardonnay made by Robert Talbott in Santa Lucia Highlands.