By Linda Gassenheimer, Tribune News Service

Bring the flavors of Morocco to your burger recipe. It’s a tasty twist on your classic burger. I added warm and savory spices — cinnamon, cumin and turmeric and lots of fresh mint — to ground meat for a unique blend of flavors.

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A secret to getting a caramelized surface and keeping the burgers together is to add them to a hot skillet without turning or moving them for 5 minutes, then flipping them over.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Make sure your spices are less than 6 months old. Add a date you buy the spice to the jar so that you know when it’s beyond its peak of flavor.

Any type of reduced fat salad dressing can be used.

COUNTDOWN:

Mix ingredients into beef and start cooking them.

Make yogurt sauce.

Make cucumber slices and tomatoes.

Toast hamburger rolls and finish the burgers.

SHOPPING LIST:

To buy: 3/4 pound 95 percent lean ground beef, 1 bottle ground cumin, 1 bottle ground cinnamon, 1 bottle ground turmeric, 1 container plain nonfat yogurt, 1 bunch fresh mint, 1 cucumber, 1 tomato, 1 bottle reduced fat salad dressing and 1 package whole wheat hamburger rolls.

Staples: olive oil, salt and black peppercorns.

Moroccan Burgers

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

3/4 pound 95 percent lean ground beef

4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, divided use

1 1/2-teaspoons ground cumin, divided use

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 cucumber, cut into slices, about 2 cups

1 tomato cut into cubes, about 2 cups

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons reduced fat salad dressing

2 whole wheat hamburger rolls

Mix beef, 2 tablespoons chopped mint, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, cinnamon, turmeric together. Form into 2 patties about 4 inches in diameter.
Heat oil in a medium-size nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef burgers and cook for 5 minutes without moving them. Turn over and cook another 5 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches 155 degrees.
While burgers cook, mix yogurt, remaining mint and cumin together and add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
Wash cucumber, do not peel, cut into 1/4-inch slices. Cut tomato into 1/2-inch cubes. Divide cucumber slices and tomatoes between two dinner plates and drizzle salad dressing on top. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toast hamburger rolls in a toaster oven or under the broiler. Place burgers on bottom half of the roll and spoon yogurt sauce on top, close with the roll top.
Serve with the cucumbers and tomatoes.

Yield 2 servings.

Per serving: 502 calories (31 percent from fat), 17.3 g fat (5.1 g saturated, 6.6 g monounsaturated), 109 mg cholesterol, 44.6 g protein, 40.1 g carbohydrates, 8.8 g fiber, 283 mg sodium.

Linda Gassenheimer is the author of over 30 cookbooks, including her newest, “The 12-Week Diabetes Cookbook.” Listen to Linda on www.WDNA.org and all major podcast sites. Email her at Linda@DinnerInMinutes.com.

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