In Defence of Burger and Chips

I’m going to come out and say it - I love burgers. They might not exactly be the healthiest food in the world, but when made at home this burger recipe is something I come back to time and time again.

Sure, the mass-produced MacDonalds/BK ones aren’t exactly what I’m talking about. And nor are the Value range that everyone was horrified to discover contained 27% horse meat (well, 27% meat is a lot more than we all thought they had in them!). But there is something really satisfying about a good burger. Something you just don’t get elsewhere.

I was spending a slightly worse-for-wear Saturday morning catching up on Masterchef last weekend and one of the guys on it took a pretty big risk and decided to serve a burger and chips (albeit a pretty good looking one). Cue sound effects telling the audience just how horrified they should be by this. But I wasn’t. It was brave decision, but as he said: he just “wanted to have fun with it”. And when it comes down to it, who doesn’t like their food to be a little fun?

It got me thinking about burgers and how I had’t made them in ages. It was’t going to happen on Saturday - that was a day when only takeaway would do - but Sunday seemed like just the right time to get back into it and make something fun. Obviously this was a great excuse to spend a good hour flicking through cookbooks (not that I really need an excuse), but more than an excuse it was an inspired idea because I came across this recipe in Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries.

Not only is this one of my favourite cookbooks, but this recipe in particular is an absolute belter. Pork and chilli burgers with coriander and lime. Bliss in a bap.

OK, so I misread the recipe and it’s meant to be lime leaves, not actual lime, but accidents happen, and in this case the end result was pretty damn good. I ended up making some chunky chips and a salad to go with mine (plus a dollop of my trusty Tommy K with balsamic vinegar - surely the king of all condiments) - all I needed was a half-decent pint, and it would have been perfect. I ate mine in the last rays of the weekend sun whilst feeling rather smug and remember just why I don’t recoil in horror when someone drops the B-bomb. These will definitely be made again this summer, can’t wait to get them on a BBQ.

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Pork and Chilli Burgers with Lime and Coriander

This recipe is adapted from Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries, it makes enough to serve two pretty hungry people, or 4 if you have plenty of salad, chips and other bits and pieces. He made his with lime leaves and more garlic that I did, but I like my way better. They would be perfect with a good cool beer, or a punchy white wine. They’ll be even better on a BBQ.

Ingredients

4 Spring onions
3 red chillies
2 cloves of garlic
small bunch of corriander
3cm fresh ginger
zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 a lime
100g bacon
350g minced pork

Baps, salad and chunky chips, to serve.

Directions

Roughly chop your coriander, spring onions, garlic, chillies (with the seeds in) and grate the ginger. Chuck the lot in a food processor and pulse into a pulp. Add in the lime juice and zest then pulse a little more.

Dollop the paste it into a large bowl and into it chop the bacon (scissors are easiest), then dump in the pork. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands in there and give it a proper mix. Make sure that the mince is properly broken up and that the chillies are properly mixed through (flavour is best at a constant level, not when it punches you in the face). Season well with black pepper and a bit of salt (not too much, the bacon will deal with that).

Cover in cling film and rest in the fridge for about 40 minutes, to allow the flavours to mix.

When you take it out of the fridge, split the mixture into four balls, and then flatten them into patties.

Cook them under the grill until they are cooked through and golden on the outside. Serve immediately.