This recipe makes about 8 healthier burgers depending on your appetite

This recipe makes about 8 healthier burgers depending on your appetite.

450 grams           Lean Minced Beef          (1lb)

½                         an Onion finally chopped

85 grams             Chestnut Mushrooms   (3 oz)

Handful               of fresh Basil

Handful               of broad leaf Parsley

1                            free range Egg

60 grams             Bread for crumbs           (2oz)

115 grams            Mozzarella cheese (guide only)

These burgers couldn’t be easier or more tasty.

Firstly you will find life easier with a food processer but don’t worry you can always chop, chop, chop, if you don’t have one. Remember the more you chop the less visible the mushrooms, onions, parsley and basil will be. So if you don’t like to see “bits” in your burger extra chopping is needed.

Place the minced beef in a large mixing bowl.

Put the bread in the blender and blitz it until it becomes fine bread crumbs.

Add the basil, parsley, roughly chopped mushrooms and finely chopped onions to the bread crumbs and give it another blitz in the food processor until the onions and mushrooms are the size you want.

Add the egg and your breadcrumb mixture to the minced beef, season with salt and pepper, and mix it all up.

Once it is thoroughly mixed you are ready to make those burgers.

Take a ball of your mixture and flatten on a work top in the rough burger shape you want. Add a little mozzarella cheese to the centre of the flattened burger mixture. Now make a lid for the burger out of a little more of your mixture. Place it on to of the cheese and use a pallet knife to seal the burger up with the cheese in the middle.

It sounds complicated? Basically make sure the cheese is in the centre of the burger and not visible otherwise it may ooze out when cooking. You decide how big you want the burgers and how much cheese you want in them. My advice is not to make them too thick as they will take longer to cook all the way through.

They may be cooked on the barbecue, on a griddle, in a pan or in the oven but always check they are fully cooked before serving them (the juices should be clear and not containing blood). Cut one open and have a look before serving. Use olive oil if you need to for cooking.

Served with crisp salad and a freshly baked rustic roll (not sweet seeded varieties) without spread this becomes a more balanced plate of food.

Remember; The cheese will be hot in the middle so allow to cool, a little, before tucking in.

Once you have tried these you can experiment with other ingredients next time such as removing the basil and adding some dried chilli (teaspoon), cumin powder (a pinch) and ground coriander seed (table spoon of whole seeds ground).  This will make an excellent spicy burger.

If you have a thin wire barbecue top, then you will need to really compress your burgers other wise they may start to crumble. This may also be caused by turning them over too quickly, let them start to cook before turning, don’t keep turning them and don’t cook them on too hot a barbecue and certainly don’t have roaring flames, as you will then have no choice but to turn them too often to stop them burning. Cook them slowly and let them cook to the centre. If you have a cooking thermometer then ensure the centre reaches 70’C. If you are worried about this, then start them off in the oven, and simply finish them off on the hot coals.