Chapter VII – Economy Drive … a batch of burgers

It's Friday evening … and I'd like to point out the obvious – you're exhausted. The ideal solution is to take the burgers from your treasure chest that you made when you had 15 minutes to spare earlier in the week – genius. All you have to do is remember - best leave yourself a note to take them out the night before and fridge!

If you prefer burgers to meatballs then this is the recipe for you – it's the same recipe as I used for the meatballs – versatility is the key.

Burgers

Makes 5 x 100g/4oz burgers

500g minced beef

or Quorn mince

*salt and black pepper

*garlic – either 2 tsps of paste or 2 cloves, crushed

*mixed herbs or garlic italian seasoning – a generous sprinkle

*half a tsp of chilli or smoked paprika

*heaped tbsp of tomato paste

*1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour plus extra to flour

a tray for shaping the burgers

gloves or damp hands!

Rapeseed or vegetable oil for shallow frying

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the remaining ingredients marked *, mix well. At this point your mixture may be too wet. If it is, sprinkle a little plain flour over the mixture and fold in gently.

The easiest way of making uniform burgers is to weigh whatever amount you wish – in this case 100g/4 oz and then shape using gloves or damp hands. The least messy way is to place an amount of minced beef onto a sheet of cling film and add or subtract to the correct weight required. You can then use the cling film to bring the burger into a ball and then transfer to the floured tray, pat it down and form into a circle. Heat the oil gently and seal the burgers on both sides.

At this point you have a choice, you can continue to cook the burgers in the pan on a low heat turning regularly for 15 minutes and then serve or if you're cooking ahead, cool, cover and fridge in an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven on 170fan/190c/Gas 5 for 20 minutes when required.

It's up to you what you do

The burgers don't take long to prep and seal, ready to freeze or to cook and serve immediately. If you are freezing a batch seal them in the pan then transfer onto sheets of kitchen roll to cool then bag and freeze as you wish – they are an excellent addition to your treasure chest!

Serve with whatever floats your boat – in a brioche bun, lightly toasted, with a cheese slice, loaded with avocado, onion, slaw and/or mayo and loads of salady stuff on the side.

Hmm, or is it Steak Haché?

Steak Haché, as you may have gathered is French – it's a posh burger without the bun and uses high quality ground beef - as fresh as you can get. I used Aberdeen Angus 5% fat minced steak for my burgers and was delighted with the result. If you're serving to people who say they don't like burgers then call it steak haché and they'll never know!

I digress - back to your cooking stash and the jacket potatoes and grated cheese. Slicing cooked jacket potatoes into wedge shapes and placing on a baking sheet and then sprinkling with grated cheese isn't too taxing.

Your burgers and your wedges need 20 minutes although if you like your wedges crispier then pop them in for 10 minutes and then add the burgers for 20 – don't forget to set your timer. You can reduce the cooking time if you like your burger/haché medium – it depends on the size of burger. As a guide if you pan fry for 3-4 minutes each side you'll get slightly pink.

Whilst you're waiting slice an onion – a sweet variety or Spanish is good too, slice a beef tomato and place on top of the onion and add a generous drizzle of Balsamic glaze – salt and black pepper to suit.

Here are the photos :

my bowl of ingredients – it looks

positively artistic!

on the plate

To answer my question, I think it's both – the purists may scoff but I don't care.

Enjoy your supper!