Plum Good Chicken Burgers

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chicken breast

¼ cup panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon fresh basil,

chopped

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Salt and pepper to taste

1 plum

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

6 square-shaped, 3-inch wholegrain

buns, split

1 tablespoon sweet-and-sour

sauce

12 baby spinach leaves

Method:

1 In a bowl, combine chicken, bread crumbs, basil, ginger, salt, and pepper. Pat mixture into a 6-inch square on a piece of foil.

2 Cover and freeze for 30 minutes so it gets firm. Meanwhile, halve the plum and remove the pit.

3 Cut three ¼-inch-thick slices; make flower shapes with a cookie cutter. Don’t discard the leftover pieces; they’ll look cute on the burgers too and the plum’s skin is particularly antioxidant-rich. Toss the plum slices with 1 teaspoon olive oil.

4 Cut chicken mixture into six 23-inch patties; brush with remaining oil. Grill on medium for 10 minutes or until done, turning once. Grill plums after you flip patties; turn once. Toast buns on grill rack for 1 minute.

5 Brush bottom of each bun with the sweet-and-sour sauce. Add 2 spinach leaves, chicken patty, plum cutout, and the bun top.

Makes 6 burgers. Nutrition per burger: 208 calories; 21g protein; 5g fat (1g saturated fat); 18g carbohydrate; 1g fiber; 51mg calcium; 2mg iron; 251mg sodium.

kitchen tip:

Before grilling, brush meat or fish with olive oil, fruit juice, or an herb vinaigrette rather than BBQ sauce—it may help prevent carcinogens from forming on your food.

Plum Good Chicken Burgers