Recipe: Burger

Since I've been spending a lot of time at home recently, I tend to tune in to Discovery Travel and Living at lunchtime, so I've been watching a lot of Jamie Oliver.

The other day I saw him whip up these "Elvis Burgers", and since I'm a sucker for burgers, I thought I'd try my hand at them too. Found the recipe here.

Ingredients (Serves 6)

900g minced beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
Pinch salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 handful Parmesan, grated
1 heaped Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 large free-range egg
115g bread crumbs
2 Tbsp milk/red wine (optional)
6 buttom mushrooms, sliced (optional)
6 slices of cheddar cheese (optional)
Sliced tomato/cucumber/lettuce (optional)
6 Burger buns, toasted



Notes on ingredients: The mushrooms, sliced cheese and vegetables are optional, but in my opinion are worthwhile additions to a burger if you have them. Jamie says he likes to mince his own beef, but I can't be bothered - I just buy mine.



In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and fry the chopped onions over low heat till they soften. I suppose you could add sugar and caramelise them, but that's additional time and trouble.



Add the onions to your meat.



In a pestle and mortar, bash up the cumin and coriander seeds. Just crush them by rolling your pestle, releasing their fragrance and then pummel them till they're a fine powder.



Add these, and the salt and pepper, to your meat. Starting to look more and more appetising already.



Add the grated parmesan, Dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, egg and 1/2 the bread crumbs and mix. If too sticky, add a few more bread crumbs. Now, a problem with hamburger patties is that they can get quite dry. To counteract this, I find it useful to add 2 Tbsp of milk or red wine to make the patties juicier. Purely optional though.



Your patty mixture should look like very interesting dogfood once you've mixed everything together. I bet all you burger eaters never really thought about what goes into your burgers.



Lay out some greaseproof paper, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and then shape the meat into patties. Place them on the crumbs, and sprinkle more crumbs on top. I used some metal rings to shape my patties, they're dead useful. Be sure not to make your patties too thick though, or they'll be a pain to cook. About half an inch is good. Jamie says these burgers are better if they are chilled in the fridge for about 1 hour before you cook them.



Heat a little oil in a frying pan, and cook the burgers on a medium-high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until cooked to your desire, turning occasionally. You can also fry the sliced mushrooms in the same oil till they're golden brown.



Place your patty on the bun, then the sliced vegetables, then the mushrooms, then the cheese, and place the round bun on top of everything. Let it rest a minute for the juices to redistribute, then have yourself a sloppy, mouth-watering burger that will shame fast food outlets everywhere.

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