Southwestern Turkey Burgers with Hatch Chilies and Queso

This burger is a celebration of my favorite chilies in the world – Hatch Chilies. For those of you who have not yet tried these fabulous bites of deliciousness, well you need to! Growing up in the Southwest we were always traveling to New Mexico for all my tennis tournaments… good old tennis tournaments. Let me just tell you that some tennis players are crazy… I guess I was never one of those players because I was really in it for the cute tennis clothes and to get a tan.

Anyways… back to the burger… New Mexico has all these fabulous flavors in their dishes and one of their favorite native ingredients is the Hatch Chile from Hatch, New Mexico. They are spicy and sweet and downright delicious. If your not crazy about the heat then use the green chilies, but if you want a kick use the red and orange chilies, as they get spicier the more red they get.

This is a fairly simple burger but the toppings are what make it superb.

Burger:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• olive oil for drizzling

Combine all the ingredients except the oil. Form into 4 patties. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the oil to the bottom of the pan. Cook the burgers for about 5-6 minutes on each side until completely cooked. Remove from skillet and keep warm until ready to assemble.

Chilies:

Check out those fabulous colors!

Rub the chilies with 1 tbsp of olive oil place onto a baking dish lined with parchment paper and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until the skin turns black. Remove the chilies from the oven and place into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 20 minutes and then peel the blackened skin off the chilies. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Queso:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1 cup Pepperjack Cheese, shredded
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet melt the butter over medium high. Whisk in the flour and combine. Add the milk and whisk constantly until it starts to thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheeses. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Now we are ready to assemble – its quite easy! Burger goes on the bottom, a few roasted hatch chilies next, top with as much queso as you want and sprinkle with some crumbled tortilla chips for a bit of a crunch… and of course a heaping dose of guacamole on the side!

of course there is Guacamole! You didn’t think I would really eat this without my favorite side dish in the world…. I didn’t think so!

This burger was entered into a Hatch Chili Contest – Check it out here!

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