Mediterranean chicken burgers with olives and thyme

Chicken burgers made with dark meat are a complete contrast to those made with breast meat. These are moist and juicy. I like buying organic boneless skinless chicken thighs and making my own burgers. For this version, I added kalamata olives, mushrooms and thyme to give it a little Mediterranean flavor. The addition of kalamata olives gives it a good salty bite and the mushrooms help to keep the burger moist.

Mediterranean chicken burgers with olives and thyme

8 oz ground chicken - dark meat or boneless, skinless thighs
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped onions
6 pitted kalamata olives
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
2 large cremini mushrooms chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 sesame seed burger buns or brioche rolls
Condiments to serve with the burger (optional)

1. Trim the fat off the thighs and cut into 1 inch pieces. Set aside. Add the kalamata olive, chopped onions, chopped garlic, thyme leaves and cremini mushrooms and pulse till all the ingredients are well mixed. Remove the mixture from the food processor and place in a mixing bowl. Now add the chicken pieces to the food processor and pulse in short bursts till the meat is ground, but not pasty. Remove the ground meat from the food processor and add to the mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix the chicken and the mushroom olive mixture by hand - do not over mix. 
2. Now form 3 patties around 2 1/2 inches in diameter. 
3. Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat. Add the patties to the hot grill pan and cook for 5 minutes. Then gently flip the burger with a slotted spoon and cook for 5 more minutes. Cover the burger while cooking the second side. This helps to retain the moisture in the meat and cooks it all the way through.
4.  Heat the bun on the grill pan. Place the cooked burger on the bun. If you like you can add dijon mustard, mayonnaise, pickles, freshly sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced onions to your assembled burger. I like to serve it with just a little mayo and some bread and butter pickles. 

Serves 3