When I see “chicken burger,” I never know exactly what that means.  It is a chicken breast on a bun, or is it ground chicken made into a patty?  I actually love both, but my favorite is when I grind my own chicken breast in the food processor, add some spices and seasonings, and shape it into a patty.  I was reading the Sunday paper, and here it was – my favorite preparation.  So once again, I decided to venture outside my recipe zone and try new source – Pacific Northwest Magazine.  What I loved most about this recipe was that instead of adding olive oil, you could add the oil that the sun-dried tomatoes were packed in – that beautiful red and sweet sun-dried tomato flavored oil.  Come on, what else are you going to do with that oil?  It was perfect.

These burgers were delicious – tons of flavor, and the sun-dried tomato aioli was the perfect complement to the burger.  I was worried that my kids wouldn’t like the rosemary – but I chopped it up finely enough that they didn’t notice the green.  Not that I am trying to hide anything in their food, but if you have ever had to take a tiny piece of parsley out of something delicious that you know your kids will love, you will appreciate the suggestion.

Ingredients

Burgers

• 1 pound ground organic/free-range chicken breast meat
• 2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes (in oil or reconstituted in warm water)
• 2 sprigs rosemary (pull needles from woody stalk, chop)
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or use the oil from sun-dried tomatoes)
• 4 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• Sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste

Aioli

• 1 clove garlic (minced or squeezed through a garlic press)
• 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato, minced (in oil, or reconstituted in warm water)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• Sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation

Burgers

Combine the meat, sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. To test the flavor make a peanut-sized patty and brown in a hot pan. Adjust seasonings if desired. Form into four equal patties and place on wax paper in the refrigerator until ready to cook. Cook burgers on a hot charbroiler, outdoor grill or pan until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve on a whole-wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and sun-dried tomato aioli.

Aioli

Whisk the garlic, lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Makes 4 burgers.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Rosemary Chicken Burgers