Succulent Stilton Surprise Burgers – 202 calories

You can’t beat a nice beef burger but with all the horse meat found in beef products in the news at the moment you could be forgiven for being a bit nervous about buying them ready made. Personally I’m not particularly bothered about a bit of equine protein after all the time I’ve spent in France. I’m pretty sure half the beef I’ve eaten there is probably more horse than cow, a bit like the lamb in Morocco owing more to the local goats than any sheep (I have never seen a sheep there, ever, but there are goats everywhere). More of a worry for me is all the rubbish that goes into most burgers along with the beef, additives and the like. These burgers have nothing but beef, onions, salt and pepper and some surprise Stilton to make them extra special and extra juicy. Forget MacDonald’s…

Ingredients (serves 6)

600g lean minced beef (mine was minced steak from my lovely butcher)

2 small red onions

100g Stilton or similar blue cheese

Salt and ground black pepper

Chop the onions until they’re nice and fine. A food processor is quite handy here but not vital.

Season the beef with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Add the onions and mix together really well. The only way to do this really is with your hands so make sure they’re really clean and get stuck in. It’s a good idea to have a bowl of soapy water nearby to wash your hands afterwards as it does tend to get pretty messy. Don’t throw the water away you’ll need it later..

Divide the mixture into six evenly sized balls. It helps if you weigh them to get them as even as possible.

Cut each ball in half. No need to be too exact about this so no weighing necessary.

Lay out a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Take one half of your first ball, roll it into a rough ball shape in your hands And press it onto the greaseproof paper in a rough burger shape.

Crumble on some Stilton, keeping it in the middle of the burger. Again to get the Stilton evenly divided between each burger I weighed it out, roughly 17 to 18 grammes per burger should do it.

Now roll the second half of the burger into a ball and squish it on top of the cheese. Take a bit of time to make sure the edges are sealed around the cheese then shape the whole thing into a nice fat burger shape.

Repeat with the other five burgers.

If you’re freezing some down for another day like I was, cut the greaseproof paper into squares and layer the ones you’re freezing with sheets of it then put them in a freezer bag and pop them in your freezer. Simple.

To cook, heat a non stick frying pan on a high heat, pop the burgers in And cook for one minute on high heat each side. Now turn the heat down to medium and cook for a further four minutes each side. Don’t worry if the cheese begins to ooze out.

Serve with a nice salad and some coleslaw. You can add a few chips if you like but these are surprisingly filling so I most certainly wouldn’t bother with a bun.