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I’ve been contemplating having a burger night at our house for the past several weeks.
Okay – I’ve been craving burgers for the past several days.
Fine… KJ ordered a burger at lunch the other day and it looked and smelled so delicious that the idea for burger night soon propelled into motion.
During our usual Saturday venture into the city, KJ and I gathered all the ingredients for Jamie Oliver’s Elvis Burger – big fat juicy patties with a few twists on ingredients, such as the addition of parmesan cheese and tarragon. We quickly hoarded the last two loaves of beautiful bread, speckled with sesame and poppy seeds, from our beloved Swiss cafe. The big loaves, split in half and toasted, would make for perfect buns.
Starting in the late afternoon on the prep, we had four big juicy patties ready and refrigerated within half an hour or so. Perfect, as friends Van and D would join us for our early evening burger feast!
Jamie Oliver’s Elvis Burger (with some liberties taken)
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 1 dried red chilli – finely ground
- 1/2 of an onion, peeled and finely chopped
- a sprig of fresh tarragon, leaves picked and chopped
- 1 large egg
- a handful of breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- a good pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1kg ground beef
- oil, for frying
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bag salad mix
- handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 4 ciabatta rolls
- handful of pickled gherkins
In a large mixing bowl, combine onion, tarragon, egg, breadcrumbs, mustard, Parmesan, nutmeg and beef. Shape into four patties, refrigerate for half an hour to allow the patties to firm up.
Once the patties are ready to be cooked, heat a large frying pan or griddle over high heat with a bit of oil. Season the burgers with salt and pepper; cook them for about 10 minutes (longer for well done), turning them over every minute or so, until they are juicy and pink.
In the meantime, split the rolls into two and toast – we placed the rolls in the oven at 150 deg C for a few minutes. For the accompanying salad, mix tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. Add dressing as desired. Once the burgers are finished, sandwich the cooked ‘Elvis’ burger between the toasted rolls. Serve with a few gherkins and a helping of salad.