On 6/8/2021 I was reading Anthony Bourdain’s novel, “Medium Raw”. In the book he references the word, Reverie, which was the first I had seen the term, which meant – a whimsical daydream. This beautiful word became imbedded in me, and on a blustery Sunday in December of that year I gave birth to my daughter, Reverie.
I loved his words, more his story telling, and his inescapable way with reaching people who he will never meet. I like to tell stories through interesting prose too.
He helped name my golden girl ~ on the day he died (6/8). Thank you, Tostony.
We didn’t know each other but I definitely would have called him that ~ and he would have frickin’ loved it.
But he would hate hashtags.
Makes 6 burgers; Takes about 50 minutes
Ingredients for Turkey Tostones Burgers
- 4 large green plantains, peeled, cut horizontally in thirds
- 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground garlic
- 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 hefty glugs olive oil
- Red onion slices, shaved thinly
- 2 avocados, mashed
- Juice of 1 lime
- Red leaf lettuce
- Canola oil & butter (for frying)
- Queso fresco cheese (enough for each burger)
- 6 tbsp homemade mojo sauce, divided
- Mayonnaise (optional)
- Scallions, chopped (for garnish, optional)
- Salt
Method
Start by making your turkey burgers. In a large bowl mix cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, olive oil, 1 tsp salt, turkey and panko together with your hands until just incorporated.
Form into patties and refrigerate.
Mash the avocados and mix in a large bit of salt to taste and lime juice. Refrigerate.
Now we make the tostones.
In a large non stick pan, heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp canola together at medium heat. Place your plantains flat side down and fry until golden on each side ~ 3 min/side. You will also want to get a little color on the round part. I like to do this last and stand by closely, using tongs to flip every 20-30 seconds. Remove all the plantains and drain on a paper towel lined dish.
Between two pieces of parchment, place 1 plantain, flat side down. Slowly smash the plantains one by one into large, thin, round disks or “buns”. These are very fragile, as they need to be fried again.
Set them all aside, not overlapping one another.
Heat more butter and canola over medium. Frying in batches (I can get about 3 into my large pan at once) until crispy ~ 1-2 min per side. Drain again on paper towel lined dishes and sprinkle with salt while still warm.
If you are good at multi tasking you could light your grill to medium high heat and cook your burgers while the tostones are frying. If not, they will stay crisp for a while and they taste great at room temp so no problem waiting.
Have a sip of the good wine.
Once the grill is hot, drizzle the turkey patties with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle of salt.
Grill for 5-7 min per side, smashing down when you flip (depending on thickness). I like these to be on the thinner side.
Once done we can assemble:) –> Bottom tostone bun, mayo (if using – which I don’t know why you wouldn’t), leaf lettuce, burger, avo mash, onion slices, queso fresco, drizzle with a tbsp mojo and then top with other tostone. Serve with a crisp sauv blanc and have a delicious night.
While your here…I have tons of sandwiches for ya! Check some of these out:
- Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sliders with Blueberry Dijonnaise
- Fried Pickle Cuban Sandwich
- Turkey Burgers with Mango Salsa and Crispy Shallots
- Meatball Hoagies
- Steak Sandwiches with Zinfandel Mushrooms and Onion Compote
