The four happinesses in question are Worcestershire, tamari, mustard and tomato paste. The result is a very flavorful, moist meat loaf that is delicious hot and possibly better cold in sandwiches. If it’s grilling season, form this mix into 4 patties and grill away. Remember one of the golden rules of grilling (especially with things like homemade turkey burgers): Oil the grates of the grill first and let whatever you put on the grill sit for a few minutes before even attempting to move it. The longer these burgers sit without moving, the easier they will be to flip.
Makes 4 servings, 2 hot servings and enough for 2 sandwiches or 4 turkey burgers
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small red or yellow onion, diced fine (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely shredded
1 egg
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon grainy or Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Scrape the onion and garlic into a bowl and cool to room temperature.
Add the carrot, egg, tomato paste, soy sauce, mustard, and salt to the bowl. Beat with a fork until very well blended. Crumble the turkey into the bowl, scatter the bread crumbs over the turkey and mix everything together very well. Plop the mix onto a baking sheet and shape into a loaf about 8 inches long by 5 inches wide. Bake until the outside is well browned and the turkey is cooked through, about 45 minutes. An easy way to tell if the center is cooked is to stick a paring knife into the thickest part of the loaf. The juices that run out of the little hole will be clear and not pink if the loaf is fully cooked. Let the turkey loaf stand 10 minutes before cutting.