No 74: The one in which I made burgers!

I thought with this post I would do something a little different and show off (although I don't mean that literally, it's not the prettiest of posts!) a recipe I put together (bah ha) last week. I am not the worlds greatest cook, nor do I particularly enjoy cooking, thus we've got into a bit of a rut food-wise due to my not being arsed (I went with it) to actually come up with anything new or exciting to cook. We always seem to have burgers (from a packet, yum) and, after feasting on different ones at Glastonbury, I thought I'd try my hand at a recipe for myself. I used a book given to the boy a good few years ago and flicked through the recipes to find the simplest and easiest one to follow, which ended up being their veggie cheeseburger with chips recipe.

Today we're visiting somewhere new - OUR KITCHEN!

When I first started putting things together, and sorting out ingredients etc, I hadn't yet decided to blog it, hence the fact there are no piccies of the 'chips' being made. But make them I did! As the recipe was for 4 

I halved it (duh) so used:

(just under) 1/2kg potatoes

(just over) 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (they recommend vegetable, this is all we had)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp chilli powder 

(I would suggest that if you like things spicy go a little more heavy handed with the cumin et al as the combination had more a subtle kick than a strong punch)

Pop the oven on at 220c, Gas Mark 7

All you need to do is scrub the potatoes (I'm not going to lie, I didn't have anything to scrub them with so they had more of a heavy-handed wash than anything else) and cut them into wedges. Pat them dry with kitchen roll (soggy pots are of no use to anyone) and lay them in a roasting tin, then drizzle with oil and sprinkle over the spices (I'm hoping you'll have better luck than me at sprinkling them because how the gosh darn do you actually do that when you only have a teaspoon to hand? Cue weird blotchy splatters!). 

On to the burgers themselves. I kept the recipe as is because the boy tends to have two burgers and I have just the one, with the leftover/s being eaten by the boy for lunch the next day. 

Right, you'll need:

1x 400g tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 small onion (I used red), finely chopped

100g cheddar, grated

100g breadcrumbs (I used a seeded loaf)

1 egg

A little plain flour, to cover the hands with

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Oh, and BAPS! Must remember the burger baps!

As you can see from my pictures I don't have a pretty array of cooking goods and accessories, just the most basic of basics, nor do I have a window in my kitchen, so it's all plain utensils and harsh artificial lighting for this post I'm afraid!

First I popped the kidney beans in a bowl and gave them a good squish with a fork (this seemed to take a while, not sure if I just have ridiculously poor hand strength?). I then grated the bread for the breadcrumbs (always doing things out of order me, like some sort of kitchen rebel - screw the system!) and chopped the onion (seriously, nothing like being unprepared) before plonking both, plus the egg, cheese, salt and pepper, on top of the kidney beans. And yes, I'd suggest a larger bowl. 

Be sure to give it all a good and careful stir (if, like me, you don't have the right sized anything you'll need to be prepared for spillage). Make sure you also pop the pan on now - I had the oil heating on 4 (temp goes up to 6) but if you forget just whack it up a little higher then turn it down once they are in. Oh, and whilst you're at it, give the chips a little shake. I always forget this part but it's handy just in case you've got a few that are catching - tends to be the case when the oven is on so high. Thank goodness I'm with a boy who loves burnt food (and that's why he does none of the cooking!)

I'm going to tell you now. I love spatulas. They are awesomely awesome and pretty much my favourite thing in the kitchen. Bar all the food. 

Once all nicely mixed divide the mixture up (I used the spatula to do so), pop a little flour on your hands, then pick one up and pat it into shape before placing it in pan. Repeat for all 4 then let them sizzle away. Turn once (or, to be honest, as often as you darn well please. Sometimes I turn them a couple of times, as well as turning the pan around because it seems one side cooks better than the other?!).

Prepare your baps as you wish (we each just had half a bap which I placed the burger on top of because sometimes there's just too much bread involved); I just had butter, the mayo had gone off (booooo) and the boy had ketchup. Team with lettuce, or any salad you can be bothered with (or if the leafy stuff ain't your thing, go salad-less) and serve with the chips. 

This is obviously the boys portion!

And there we have it, veggie cheeseburgers and homemade chiperoonies!

Let me know if you try them out for yourself!