Cooking with Kids: Turkey Parmesan Patties

Mamma mia! These Italian style Turkey Parmesan Patties are a hit! They're zippy and full of fantastic flavour, baked in a tasty tomato sauce and covered with bubbling cheese. Serve them with noodles or garlic bread to sop up that delicious sauce. They're easy enough for kids to help you make them, too. (Skip to recipe.)

Cooking with Meredith

Meredith and I have started cooking together again. We didn't have a chance to do it all of last fall because I was so busy with my job. I felt like I didn't have time to breathe, let alone cook much. (Two weeks of substitute teaching in a grade one class kept stretching out and here I am, still there after many months, exhausted but loving it!) Now that I'm finally in the groove of working and kinda breathing again (necessary for survival, right?), it was time to get cooking. Meredith and I had a blast in the kitchen together, and I realized how much I'd missed it.

We made up a batch of simple and tasty Orange Cream Sodas (recipe here) and a pan of absolutely delicious Turkey Parmesan Patties. We sure gobbled up this tasty Italian inspired turkey dish!

Let's Get Cooking our Turkey Parmesan Patties

First you put all the ingredients in a bowl. Then you get in there with your hands and smoosh it all up (that's the fun part).

A trick for getting evenly shaped patties is to pat the meat mixture down, then cut it into wedges with a butter knife. Each wedge makes the perfect amount for one patty.

Then you scoop up the meat and roll each wedge into a nice flat patty.

Next you put 'em in a hot oven and bake them until they're lightly browned.

While the patties are baking you can slice up the mozzarella cheese.

Then pull the pan out of the oven and cover the patties with the tomato sauce.

Add the cheese slices.

Then add more cheesiness with a sprinkling of parmesan.

And bake 'em again until they're golden and bubbling and smelling fantastic.

Set the steaming dish on the table and call the gang. They'll come running for these Turkey Parmesan Patties.

You can serve them with buttered noodles and a salad and pretend you're in a little streetside restaurant in Italy with a jolly mustachioed Italian playing an accordion in the background and a couple cats sleeping beside the table.

Mangia! Mangia!

* * * * *

Kitchen Frau Notes: If you don't have Italian seasoning you can make your own by mixing together equal parts of dried oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. (½ teaspoon of each will give you enough for this recipe with a little bit left over.)

Turkey Parmesan Patties

for the turkey patties:

• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion (1 cup, diced)
• 1 lb (454gms) ground turkey (or chicken)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup (50gms) gluten free breadcrumbs or quick oats
• 2 tablespoons water
• ¼ cup (30gms) grated parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

for the sauce:

• 1 can (14oz/400gms) tomato sauce (or 2 cups homemade tomato sauce)
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 4 oz  (4 slices) fresh mozzarella
• ¼ cup (30gms) grated parmesan cheese
• chopped fresh basil or parsley (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Use 1 teaspoon of the olive oil to grease a baking dish that is about 8" x 12" (20x30cm).

Finely dice the onion. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of  olive oil and the diced onion. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until it is translucent and starting to brown in a few places. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the onions to cool for a few minutes while you get the other ingredients together.

Put the ground turkey or chicken meat into a large bowl. Add the egg, breadcrumbs, water, parmesan cheese, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and the cooked onions. Mix all the ingredients together well with your hands. Pat the meat into an even circle in the bottom of the bowl. Use a butter knife to cut it into eight even wedges.

Use your fingers to carefully scoop out one of the wedges of meat. Form it into a round, flattened patty that is about 3 inches (7.5cm) in diameter. Do this with all the remaining wedges. Place the patties into the prepared baking dish.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

While the patties are baking, stir the teaspoon of Italian seasoning into the can of tomato sauce and slice the mozarella cheese into 4 slices, then cut each slice in half.

Remove the pan of turkey parmesan patties from the oven using oven mitts. Pour the seasoned tomato sauce over the patties and top each patty with one of the cheese half slices. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over, dividing it out so it is mostly right on top of each of the patties.

Return the baking dish to the oven and bake it for 20 to 25 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and bubbling and golden brown in spots.

Serve the Turkey Parmesan Patties with buttered noodles, rice or garlic bread and a salad  or cooked green vegetable.

Serves 4 to 6.

 

Guten Appetit!

 

For more fun cooking projects to make with kids, see the ‘Cooking With Kids’ series here.

 

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