Chilli Burgers with Coriander and Spring Onions

Chilli Burgers with Coriander and Spring Onions

Ingredients :

• 200g/7oz canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 450g/1lb best steak mince
• 1-2 fresh red chillies, such as jalepeno, deseeded and chopped, or to taste
• 2-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 spring onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
• salt and pepper

Salsa:

• 3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 small ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and mashed
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 fresh red jalapeno chili, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander.

1. Place the kidney beans in a food processor and blend for 1 minute
2. Add steak mince, chillies, garlic, spring onions, coriander and salt and pepper to the food processor and blend for a further 2 minutes.   Shape into 4 equal size burgers, then cover and leave to chill for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the salsa.   Mix the tomatoes, avocado, spring onions, chili and coriander together.   Place in a small bowl, cover and leave for at lease 30 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
4. Heat a non stick frying pan until hot.   When hot, add the burgers and cook over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden or until cooked to personal preference.   Serve with the salsa.

Make your Own : Chinese 5 Spice Powder

I bought some pork belly strips with a view to sticking them onto the bbq this weekend, I thought I would give them a try instead of pork ribs, easier for the kids to eat (no bones) also it is a relatively cheaper cut of meat.. and tasty to boot!

I wanted a Marinade for them so scanned through my bookcase and found a book called “Barbeque” over 200 sizzling dishes for outdoor eating – ISBN 1-84038-260-0

Found a fab recipe on Page 32 – Five-Spice Rib-Stickers.. sounded fab so got stuck in and started to make it, only had one problem, I didnt have any Five Spice, so had to make my own from scratch, grinding the whole spices to powder in my pestle & mortar.

Five Spice Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. ground Szechwan pepper
• 1 tsp. ground star anise
• 1-1/4 tsp. ground fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper

Combine all the spice powder together, use what you need and store the rest in an airtight container.

Marinade Recipe :

• 2 tsp. Chinese Five-Spice Powder
• 2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp. grated fresh root ginger
• half a teaspoon of chili sauce
• 4 tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. dark muscavado sugar
• 1 tbsp. sunflower oil

Mix all these ingredients into a bowl and add the pork belly/ribs and marinade overnight in the fridge.

Verdict : 10/10  – they tasted great and the kids loved them too! 🙂

Chilli Con Carne

This is our version of Chili Con Carne, it is quick to make and as no-one in our family really likes kidney beans apart from me.. this recipe doesn’t include them.

The recipe originated from a packet of mince we bought and the recipe was on the reverse side of the label and we gave it a try :o)

Cooking time : 40 mins

Ingredients :

• 1 Onion finely chopped
• 1 Clove of Garlic, crushed
• 1 Red Pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder (i use mild)
• Half a teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• A 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 300ml beef stock
• salt and pepper
• 200g beef
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

method:

1. Saute the meat, onion, garlic and red pepper over a moderate heat for 6 – 8 mins
2. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook for 1 min
3. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer for 3o minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Serve with rice or tacos and salad

We had some left over so I stuck it in the fridge and we will have it tonight as a supper dish.   I’ve already boiled some largeish new potatoes and grated some cheese…

I’m going to cut the potatoes in half, place on a baking tray, put a dollop of chili on top of each half, then top with a really good mature cheddar cheese and bake in the oven until piping hot and the cheese has melted.

                                 

Slight change of plan my daughter has just surfaced out of bed (its 1320hrs) and has put in a request for these for her lunch!   I have made half and will keep the other half till suppertime :o)