by Suzanne Mulholland from The Batch Lady (Harper Collins)
Nigel says: "Suzanne Mulholland likes to cook in batches, as in preparing a number of dishes at one time, so her time spent in the kitchen is as productive as possible. I've made her Lamb & Feta Burgers alongside her Moussaka & there's a cross over of ingredients & steps in preparing the dishes. So for example I've used lamb mince & feta cheese in both dishes. As you can see below Suzanne likes to freeze many of the dishes & then cook them ready for the table, once they've been defrosted."
These are so easy to make and are frozen raw, so the minute you’ve divided up your patties, you're moving on to the next meal. I freeze these with brioche burger buns and corn on the cob alongside, so my whole meal is ready to pull out of the freezer and defrost in one go.
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 12 mins
Makes 4 large or medium burgers
Ingredients
500g minced lamb
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp dried thyme
100g feta cheese, cut into 1cm (½in) cubes
splash of olive oil, for frying
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
To Serve:
4 brioche burger buns, halved
salad leaves corn on the cob
sauce of your choice (sriracha, mayo or cucumber yogurt would work well)
Method
1. Put the meat, Worcestershire sauce, dried herbs and a generous grinding of salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix with your fingers until well combined.
2. Depending on the size you want your burgers, split the mixture in four or six equal-sized portions, then divide the cubed feta evenly between the portions of meat. Shape each portion of meat into a burger patty, pressing the feta cubes firmly into the mixture.
IF YOU ARE MAKING THE MOUSSAKA, RETURN TO STEP 3 NOW
Zhuzh it Up! For a grown-up twist, add some finely chopped fennel tops to the burger mixture to give a delicious hint of anise.
To cook: To cook the Burgers, heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, then cook for 5-6 mins on each side, until cooked through. Serve in brioche buns with salad, corn on the cob & your choice of sauce alongside.
To freeze: Transfer to a clearly labelled freezer bag in a single layer, then freeze flat for up to 1 month.
To cook from frozen: These are best defrosted & cooked in a pan as described above. If you want to cook them from frozen, cook in an oven preheated to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6 for 25-30 mins, turning halfway through.