MORE PLEASE - BURGERS

Lamb, Ezme and Brown Butter Yoghurt burgers, My Perfect Cheeseburger, and an Antidote to a Fillet'O'Fish - an Actually Good Fish Burger.

Good Monday to all you delicious More Please subscribers! I hope you were all basking in the sunshine this past week, it finally feels like summer is almost upon us here in the UK.

I was OVERJOYED to be able to light my barbecue for the first time in my new garden. The obvious benefits of the kitchen-garden link up include not having to climb out of a kitchen window laden with knives, tongs and bags of meat, but also it means I feel so much more confident about creating some great BBQ recipes for you guys over the coming months.

It also got me thinking about one of the most ubiquitous and yet somehow easily ruined BBQ staples - the burger. Firstly let me say I really don’t believe all burgers HAVE to be grilled. I also believe that the accoutrements (ie. fillings) make it, and that ultimately a burger is a very personal thing. So the recipe part of a burger should focus on the patty itself, because there will always be someone who will want to edit the fillings. Personally, I am a big raw onion gal, as you are about to find out.

I also should also say - for best results, burgers should not be attempted for groups above 6 people. There are a myriad of reasons but most importantly and most prevalently, the risk of over or undercooking is too high. Burgers are best cooked in small batches, quickly, and then immediately eaten. Unless you want to run a grill-restaurant style service where you can never tear yourself away from the BBQ, you will always end up with an imperfect result if you have to cook many at one time. So, if you are planning a BBQ for many heads this summer, I would say lean in to the sausages and wings.

Today we are going to tackle 2 grilled burger options as well as a fried fish burger (which can also work as a veggie burger with a couple of substitutions). A note on cooking - I grilled my lamb and beef burgers on a spanking hot BBQ but if that is not an option, pan-frying or griddling will also work for both.

Lamb burgers are always a good idea, lamb grills so well and they are a real joy to make. They offer a different scope of ingredients, pairings and playfulness to the habitual beef. I often find myself heading to Turkish or Levantine preparations with lamb, and these burgers definitely riff on Turkish flavours. Served with a delicious and spicy Ezme, one of Turkey’s famous salad-dips (an excellent genre), made with grilled red peppers, onion and chilli, and topped with sour yoghurt enriched with brown butter and garlic, these burgers are killer.

Then, the humble cheeseburger. Everyone has their preferences and everyone is right. I am sharing with you my ultimate cheeseburger, how to cook it perfectly and a recipe for charred jalapeño and onion relish, if that’s your sort of thing.

Finally, a Fish Burger. Fried, not grilled, with Onions, Black Olives and Lemon Aioli. I wanted to incorporate some of the flavours of provençale fish dishes into this burger whilst also keeping it fresh, vibrant and really quite addictive. I’ve had a filet-o-fish before and honestly on paper it sounds great but it always ends up being a huge disappointment. This fish burger is a triumph, I can assure you. Using aubergine or tofu instead, this could also be a splendid veggie burger.