Henri - Homemade burgers

Serves 4-6 (depending how large you make the burgers)

We’re in the midst of summer (for England anyway) so there’s nothing quite like a BBQ!! I am a massive fan of homemade burgers; it’s a fantastic opportunity to be really creative and try new flavours.  The other day I cooked falafel burgers with a cucumber and mint raita encased in pitta pockets for Nia and I, but thought I would try something non-vegetarian for this blog post.  I thus decided on beef burgers stuffed with stilton served with guacamole, salsa, caramelised onions and sweet potato fries.  I treated us to Aberdeen Angus mince meat from Waitrose, naughty since I really should be shopping in a slightly less extravagant supermarket, but burgers do need to be made with the best quality mince. Anyway, I hope you’re all salivating at the thought of homemade burgers and rush to make them for your weekend BBQ (hopefully these thunderstorms will pass by then)!

Ingredients

Burgers

800g Aberdeen Angus mince meat (Waitrose)

6 cloves of garlic (I tend to use quite a lot but this is personal)

6 shallots diced

1 egg beaten

Stilton

Seasoning – cracked black pepper, salt and mixed herbs

Flour, for dusting

Relish  

1 red onion cut into wedges

4 cloves of garlic

3 stalks of celery

6 tomatoes roughly chopped

1 red/green chilli (depending on your desired heat intensity)

Guacamole

2 avocados

Juice of 1 lime

Bunch of coriander roughly chopped

Seasoning – cracked black pepper and salt

Caramelised onions

2 onions sliced

Honey

Oil

Sweet potato fries

3 large sweet potatoes

Seasoning - salt

Oil

To serve:

Toasted ciabatta rolls

Beef tomatoes sliced

Little gem lettuce

Gherkins

Soured cream

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200˚c. 

In a large bowl combine the mince meat with the crushed garlic, shallots and seasoning and mix together well.  Add the beaten egg and mix again, though not too much because this will cause the burgers to be heavy.  Form the mince meat into thin patties, lay on a flour-dusted surface and place a dollop of stilton in the centre.  Place another patty on top and mould the edges to create a burger (you may think they look like enormous meatballs, so flatten them if so desired). Cover with cling-film and leave in the fridge until around 10 minutes before you want to cook them.

Meanwhile, drizzle an oven-tray with oil and heat in the oven.  Chop the sweet potatoes into either skinny fries or chunky chips, and part-boil them.  When they have softened place them on the oven-tray, season and toss them in oil.  Cook in the oven for approximately 20 minutes for skinny fries or 40 minutes for chunky chips, until crispy.    

Next is the preparation of the salsa, guacamole and caramelised onions.  Preparing the salsa was straightforward; heat oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic until softened.  Add the tomatoes, celery and chilli, leaving to simmer until all ingredients have softened.  Season well and leave to cool.

The guacamole I kept unadulterated since there are a lot of other flavours going on in the dish, so simply use a mini chopper to blitz the avocados and coriander with lime juice and plenty of seasoning. Cover and leave in the fridge until ready to serve.

Everything should be prepared at this point; burgers, salsa, guacamole and the sweet potato fries in the oven cooking.  The last thing to do before cooking the burgers is to caramelise the onions.  Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onions and cook until softened.  Add honey to the pan and allow to sweat until ready to serve, stirring occasionally to prevent the onions from sticking. 

Almost there...heat a griddle pan with oil until piping hot, and cook the burgers for 5-10 minutes, depending on their size and how pink you like them, turning them over after 2 minutes.  Do not worry if the stilton begins to ooze out!  During this time, lightly toast the ciabatta rolls in the oven. 

Serve the burgers immediately with the ciabatta rolls and pile high with all of the delightful extras; beef tomatoes, little gem lettuce, caramelised onions and gherkins.  On the side have the guacamole, salsa and of course the sweet potato fries.

This is a pretty substantial meal so make sure you’re ready to take on the challenge!