Turkey is not just for Thanksgiving – it’s great all year round. This take on a traditional Middle Eastern lamb dish is perfect for the hot summer months when lamb might be too heavy a meal. The herb-yogurt is refreshing and packs a flavorful punch. A few toasted pitas to complete the meal – and your weeknight dinner dilemma is solved.

Do you like to use turkey all year round? Or do you save it for the holidays?
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 pound ground turkey (dark meat preferable)
1/2 cup spring onions (or a mild-tasting onion such as Vidalia), finely diced, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 Kirby cucumbers
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium tomatoes cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 whole wheat pitas, warmed in an oven or a toaster
In a small skillet over medium-high heat, toast the coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and grind, using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
In a large bowls, combine turkey, 1/4 cup spring onion, 1 tablespoon mint, 1 tablespoon dill, ground spices, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix together until well combined and form into 8 oval patties.
Finely dice one of the cucumbers; slice the other cucumber into 1/4-inch slices and set aside by the tomatoes. In a small bowl stir together the diced cucumber, yogurt, and the remaining onion, mint, dill, salt, and pepper.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook the patties until browned on all dies and cooked through about 12 minutes. Divide the patties, the tomatoes and sliced cucumber among the pitas. Top generously with the yogurt-cucumber sauce, fold to enclose and serve.
Related: Healthy Recipe: Turkey Meatballs over Greens
(Images: Olga Massov of Sassy Radish)
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Comments (6)
Oh hell yum.
Made this tonight and it was heavenly. Sure, the perfect farmers market tomatoes helped, but this was amazing.
I used store bought tzaziki and shallots in the place of the green onions because that's what needed to be used up.
PS I do like to use turkey year round! Partly because its yummy, partly cause its a healthier meat, and partly cause it cheap.
Made this last night too - yum! I just used ground cumin and coriander that I had - but they still tasted amazing. Thanks for this recipe - simple and delicious!
Lol it's called Köfte (Kofte) and yes it's great :)
try a pressed garlic glove whisked into yogurt instead of onion ... and its Kofte!
What do people think of doing this recipe with lean ground beef instead of turkey?
It would probably work with beef, but honestly I loved it the way it's written. Ground turkey/turkey burgers sometimes turn out dry, but this was nice and juicy and flavorful. My boyfriend is not usually a turkey fan, but he proclaimed this recipe delicious and asked that it be added to the regular rotation. The spice and onion (I used regular onion) made the meat feel a lot richer, if that makes sense.