Italian Turkey Burgers

I had some leftover pesto in the fridge and only about two days before it went bad.  It had to get used up but with an entire 9x13 casserole of mac and cheese in the fridge, I had no need for anything pasta based.  I also had some hamburger buns so an Italian themed burger began to take shape.

There are a couple ways to do this, you can mix the pesto right into the turkey meat or if your turkey burger was already pre-shaped at the butcher counter like mine was, you can do what I did and just use the pesto as a spread right on the bun.  You can do this plain or, again, follow my lead and mix it with mayo to give the spread a little extra creaminess.  I like the pesto/mayo ratio to tip in the pesto's favor, but that's just me.  For the final touch, top with smoked mozzarella.  For best results, put the mozz on top of the burger as it finishes cooking in the pan or on the grill.  Then cover it with the lid of a pan so the steam gets the cheese nice and melty.  That's how you get the gorgeous stringy cheese you see in the pic.

Summer is burger time, but that doesn't mean it always has to be as simple as beef and cheddar cheese with ketchup.