You could also try this with veal if you are feeling more adventurous, and if you don’t eat red meat, turkey mince works brilliantly. Try a pinch of hot chilli in with your mixture to spice things up a bit, or alternatively try patting down half a burgers worth mixture in your hands, add a square of cheese, and then add the other half. When your burger is cooked, the cheese will be melted and delicious in the middle.

Ingredients:

• 2lb of beef steak mince (You can use stewing steak, this is cheaper but just as tasty)
• 1 large onion
• 3 thick slices of stale bread
• 1 tsp. dried caraway seeds
• ½ bottle of a good quality ale at room temperature. If this is straight from the fridge, it will not work properly.
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper
• One large egg
• Handful of chopped parsley

Method of Preparation:

Tip the beef into a bowl and loosen it up with your hands.

Peel the onion and wash it to get rid of the skin. Chop it very finely so there are no big chunks of onion as these are not nice to bite down on in your burger.

Add in the caraway seeds.

Add in the salt and pepper and give another good mix with your hands.

Pour in the ale and give everything another mix.

Give everything a good mix and allow the ale and the flavours to combine with the meat and for everything to soak up. Break the bread up into pieces and add these too. Give everything a final mix, and before you cook make sure you squeeze out the excess liquid as the burgers will not hold their shape.

Using your hands, create burgers from the mixture. Don’t make them too big.

Before cooking, brush each one with the egg white.

Grill cook or use a saucepan on a medium heat. Try to avoid turning them too many times.

When they are cooked, serve with thick onion rings on a nice crusty white bread roll.

Ingredients

• 500g lean stewing steak
• 2 red onions
• 3 carrots
• 2 celery sticks
• Glass of red wine
• Equivalent to a glass beef stock
• 3 or4 garlic cloves
• 250g mushrooms
• 4 potatoes
• 35g butter
• Salt and peppers
• Mint

Method of Preparation:

• First, chop the onion, celery, garlic, and carrots very finely. Cook them in some olive oil, salt and pepper, for about ten minutes until completely soft.
• Add the stewing steak in, and cook until it is browned on the outside. Add the wine, and the stock. If needed, add some water to top it up.
• Simmer with the mint, and add the chopped mushrooms. Simmer for around 2 hours.
• Cut the potatoes into squares, add to cold salted water. Simmer for half an hour, or until fluffy. Pass through a potato ricer. Add milk, salt, and pepper- and lots of butter! Mix together until smooth.
• Spoon your stewed steak mix into four individual casserole bowls. Spoon the mash on top, cover with cheese, and bake for 30 minutes at 180C.

Serve: Serve with cabbage – chop an onion finely, and two rashes or bacon, and add to a pan. Cook gently. Chop the cabbage finely, and add to the bacon and onion. Wilt for about 3-4 minutes, and serve with a knob of butter on top.

You could always substitute the beef steak for beef mince for a more traditional taste – this also works beautifully with spring lamb. If you do this, marinade the meat in red wine and mint first. Preferably overnight, in the fridge, covered in cling film. This makes it lovely and juicy, and really brings out the flavour. You could also add thyme, and if you want to experiment further, add a finely chopped chilli, for a little bit of heat! This is a great twist, and so very simple.

A nice way to serve this is in a big dish at the table – get your guests to help themselves!