Cashew and basil burger patties

Yesterday my seven year old nephew, who is visiting from France, came over for lunch. I don’t really know him that well, so wasn’t sure how fussy he is. After some thought I decided there was no way I could go wrong with a burger and I LOVE home-made burgers, so off I went to get all the ingredients. As he arrived I had just finished all the preparations and was ready to get stuck in. Guess what… he doesn’t like burgers.

So while my Dad and I enjoyed my fantastic burgers (if I do say so myself), he ate a peanut butter sandwich. No regrets though, as now I still have one patty left over and am looking forward to having it for lunch today… so good!

This recipe is just that bit different with loads of chopped bacon, tomato, nuts and basil in the patty which makes it juicy and flavoursome. I topped my burger with a mature cheddar and sundried tomato paste from Nog. The whole combination was to die for.

I have done this in the past for dinner parties too; with various bowls of accompaniments and let people put together their own burgers. Has always been a hit.

Thekla’s burger recipe

Makes 6 generous sized burgers

500g beef mince

125g of streaky back bacon, finely cut up

1 large ripe tomato, very finely cut up

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ a small onion, minced

50g of cashew nuts, finely chopped

A handful of fresh basil, finely chopped up (or a few spoons of basil pesto)

1 ½ tsp of salt

½ tsp of smoked paprika powder

Freshly ground black pepper

1 egg

Get a large heavy bottomed frying pan heating up, on medium heat, on the stove. Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly. Shape them into patties the same size as the bun you plan to serve them in. Try to get them relatively flat as this will help cook them all the way through before they burn on the outside.

Add a little oil to the pan and start frying the patties. Once they have browned on the first side flip them over carefully with a spatula. It should take about 7 – 10 minutes per side, depending on the size of the patties and how well done you like your meat.

Serve on your favourite bun with all your favourite accompaniments.