1 shallot | 500g mince | 50g room temperature butter (5-10% of mince) | salt | 4 burger rolls | 250g Jarlsberg or cheddar cheese slices | 1 tomato | 1 lettuce | 1 tin beetroot | mayonnaise | tomato sauce | bacon, avocado (optional)
METHOD
At some stage drain the tin of beetroot, prepare and set aside 4 slices of tomato, 4 slices of avocado and sufficient slices of cheese to melt on patties.
Also tear off enough burger sized crisp lettuce leaves. Wash and dry lettuce leaves in salad spinner.
Grate or finely chop the shallot and thoroughly mix it with the mince and butter, in the mixing bowl. Season exterior just before grilling + Rest 5min
Divide the mixture into four equal size patties, usually around 100-150g each
To form patty shape, roll the lumps of mix between the palms of your hands until round and well formed, then flatten on cutting board with your hand or the turner.
Preheat frypan and olive oil at medium to high heat and use the Turner to place the patties in the frypan for about 10 minutes, turning 3 times and controlling the heat to char-grill the outside.
After final turn (7.5 minutes), lay the slices of cheese on the patties and place lid on frypan to help melt cheese (2.5 minutes).
While the cheese is melting, slice open the bread rolls and spread with mayonnaise.
Assemble burgers on plates in this order: avocado, lettuce leaves, tomato, sliver of onion, beetroot and finally gently place char-grilled patty with cheese on top then serve at the table with tomato sauce.
JUST SAYING
Unless you choose “well-done”, don’t overcook the patties. Medium-rare on the inside and char-grilled outside is both juicy and tasty.
Experiment with different burger rolls. I prefer a little bit crispy. No crispiness can get a bit soggy. Too crisp is hard to bite and everything slips out the side for the little ones. No roll is an option for those on a low-carbohydrate diet.
For something different make chicken burgers by substituting mince with chicken thigh fillets (no need to use chicken mince) and definitely grilled on the barbecued. A steak burger would also be just as easy.
Brown mince in frypan at high heat and chop 1 onion to fry next.
Once mince is browned, scrape into a bowl for later and add olive oil to frypan continuing at high heat.
Chop + add the brown onion and fry for 5-10 minutes, reduce heat and stir with spatula periodically, until golden brown.
Return the mince to the pan and add the taco spice mix and taco sauce and simmer for 10 minutes at medium to low heat.
Finely chop the red onion. Chop the iceberg lettuce and the tomato and transfer each separately to individual serving bowls.
Transfer the grated cheddar cheese into a serving bowl.
Make a guacamole side by scooping the avocado into a bowl, adding chopped coriander and some of the finely chopped onion. Mash together with a fork, then add some of the chopped tomato, juice of ½ a lime and salt to taste. Gently mix together.
Bake taco shells in oven at 180°C for 5 minutes.
Transfer baked taco shells to a serving bowl and cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm.
Transfer cooked taco mince into a serving bowl.
Gather everyone around the table to create their own yummy tacos out of the mince, cheese, onion, guacamole, tomato and lettuce.
JUST SAYING
Everyone starts with a plate and a hot oven baked taco.
Use a spoon to serve the hot taco mince, but hands or spoons for the other side dishes are OK.
Tacos are messy, but fun, so stock up with plenty of serviettes for taco night.
Add a finely chopped chilli to the guacamole to make it more authentic.
Anything with avocado should be made just before serving.
For variety make chicken tacos or enchiladas with chicken breast, chicken stock and a tin of diced tomatoes instead of mince, taco spice mix and taco sauce. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer, submerge chicken breasts in stock and poach for 10-15 minutes or until cooked, then remove and shred with a fork. Add everything back in the frypan with a tin of diced tomatoes and the fried onion. Reduce the sauce if too watery (thickening a sauce by boiling where water in the sauce evaporates and the sauce reduces in volume while flavour is intensified). Use corn tortillas rolled around a filling, sprinkled with some cheese for delicious enchiladas.
PASTRY - 500g plain flour | a pinch of salt | ½ tsp baking powder | 250g butter | 180ml Ice cold water
QUICHE FILLING - 40g/2Tbs butter | 25g/2Tbs plain flour | 500ml milk | 1 cup grated cheddar cheese | 6 eggs whisked | 1 shallot grated | 1 bunch of fresh parsley | 4 rashers of bacon
METHOD
Cook the bacon. See Baking Bacon recipe for soft or crispy bacon.
Preheat oven to 220°C.
For pastry, sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.
Cut butter into small pieces and rub into flour mixture until it looks like bread crumbs.
Continue kneading and add 125-180ml of ice cold water, but only add a little at a time and only just enough to make a nice soft dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a thickness of 2-3mm and into a circle the size of your quiche dish including the height of the sides. Fit pastry into quiche dish, pressing into corners. You may need some practice with this. No sweat, rough and ready is fine. Cut the excess pastry off level with the top of the dish with a knife.
Transfer to freezer to chill while preparing the filling.
For the quiche filling, melt butter in saucepan over low heat, then whisk in flour until smooth. Add the milk gradually, while still stirring.
Bring the mixture to just below a simmer (about 60°C) where the mixture thickens. Then remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Mix in the cheese, onion, some chopped parsley and the eggs.
Pour into the pastry lined dish and sprinkle with some more grated cheese and chopped parsley.
Bake for 25 minutes at 220°C or until it is golden and just set with a slight wobble in centre.
Cool for about 10 minutes before serving with a lovely salad.
JUST SAYING
Don’t add too much ice cold water to the pastry. It must not become sticky. Too much water causes too much gluten. It makes the pastry tough and causes shrinkage when baked.
Ice cold water keeps the butter chilled when you're making a pastry. Warm or melted butter moistens the flour too much, also developing too much gluten, making the pastry tough and causes it to shrink when baked.
Pastry made with butter that does not puff up during baking is known as shortcrust pastry, and is usually made in a ratio of 1 x butter to 2 x flour. You could buy readymade shortcrust pastry sheets from most supermarkets, but then when people ask, “Wow, you make quiche! Do you make the pastry as well?” you won’t be able to say “Yes!”
FYI, shortening is any fat, such as butter, that is solid at room temperature.
If you find the pastry soggy after baking, blind bake (baking pastry without the filling) the pastry for 5 minutes before adding the filling.
You can add chopped bacon for extra flavour, broccoli or smoked salmon for something different, or marjoram instead of parsley.
Use cheddar, tasty cheese or gruyere, not mozzarella.
This quantity is for one big dish (approx 29cm) or two small dishes (approx 22cm).
