Lizano burger and lemon asparagus

A few weeks ago, my friends and I had a potluck BBQ for my birthday, and I had the most delicious asparagus ever. Last weekend was another friend's birthday BBQ, and I was in charge of the turkey burgers, which were probably the best I've ever made. Tonight, I put them both together to make one supremely delicious dinner!

What You Need:

• Ground turkey
• Yellow or white onion
• Fresh garlic
• Salsa Lizano (or your own substitute)
• Provolone cheese, sliced
  
• Asparagus
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Lemon

Unfortunately, most of you will be unable to make these burgers using my key ingredient - Salsa Lizano. I was introduced to the sauce in 2006 when I went to Costa Rica for the first time. I loved it so much that I stocked up on a couple of bottles before returning home. To my delight, the grocery store in my neighborhood had quite a large Hispanic section and sold my Lizano! Since moving to Philadelphia from North Carolina, I haven't been able to find Salsa Lizano anywhere, nor have I met anyone who's ever tried it. I returned to Costa Rica last May and was sure to stock up on a few bottles of that delicious, all-purpose sauce. And yes, it is a sauce, not literally a salsa, as the name may be misunderstood. Lizano is a mix of deliciously tangy and somewhat spicy flavors, best described in use as Costa Rica's version of America's ketchup.

What You Do:

• To make the burgers, use the necessary amount of ground turkey meat (99% fat free/white meat) and add to it the desired amount of chopped onions, garlic and sauce. Mix all together, form your patties and grill (or cook in a frying pan, as I did due to the drizzly weather today). Just before they are finished, top with a slice of cheese. I ate my burger sans bun tonight, but when I do eat them I always choose potato bread. Mmmm, so good!
• To prepare the asparagus, slice off the bottom ends of the stem and discard (don't forget to compost!); slice the asparagus stalks to the desired size (I cut mine into thirds). In a frying pan, add a little extra virgin olive oil, throw in the asparagus and cook until slightly brown, stirring occasionally so all sides get cooked. Turn the heat off and squeeze lemon onto the asparagus and stir to be sure all stalks get coated.

Both parts of this meal have really strong and delicious flavors, perfectly complimenting each other. It can sometimes be a mistake to serve more than one intensely flavored food in a meal, but you can't go wrong with these two!