BBQ Bean Burgers

It's been a bit of a crazy week - largely because I've decided to give gliding a try! Great fun, but staying out in the bush has wreaked a little havoc with my cooking. Wednesday I hosted a friend who is also planning to learn, and one of the gliding instructors, for an informal dinner and lecture on the basics. I fell back on tried-and-tested quesadillas, refried beans, a little salsa, and bbq'd some sweet corn-on-the-cobs. Thursday I was out at the Perth Festival, and Friday to Sunday I was learning to glide - awesome! Monday the Most Excellent Husband did the cooking, but I unfortunately forgot to take a photo :(

So we come to today, which was an attack on all the leftovers which have built up in the fridge. I made the watermelon, basil and goat's cheese salad, bbq'd some sweet potato, and threw together some quick bean burgers. Yum with some sweet chilli sauce!

Ingredients:

• a handful of coriander stems and roots
• a handful of parsley
• a slice of bread
• half a cup of leftover refried beans
• a carrot
• one egg

In a small blender, whiz the herbs and bread together into breadcrumbs. Grate the carrot. Break the egg into a large bowl and stir the white and yolk together with a fork. Add the carrot, herby breadcrumbs and beans, and stir all the ingredients together. Form into small patties with your hands - if the mixture is too dry, add a splash of milk; if too wet, add more breadcrumbs. Barbecue on the hot plate on a low heat for five minutes on each side, until toasted and cooked through.

Home-made Burgers with Toasted Foccacia

Simple burgers tonight: just fresh fine beef mince from the butcher's, pressed together to make flat patties and BBQ'd for four minutes a side, along with a whole white onion cut into rings and fried on the BBQ flat plate. We spread Romesco sauce over wodges of toasted focaccia, and the resulting burgers would not be amiss in a hotel bar, if only I could have pinned them with cocktail sticks :)

Lamb Burgers with Apricot Cous-Cous

Lamb and cous-cous, always a delicious combination! Especially on these slightly chilly spring evenings, when you've been warm all day but as the evening draws in, you definitely still want a hot meal. The lamb is from the market butcher and as I only bought it yesterday, I decide to cook it in burgers, thick and rare in the middle. A little spice and garlic in the patties, some sweet cous-cous, and a warm green salad are a perfect closing note for a delightful weekend.

Ingredients:

• 300g lean minced lamb (preferably from within your own country!)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 medium clove of garlic
• 1 egg
• A handful of fine breadcrumbs
• dried cous-cous
• a few dried apricots
• a small handful of almonds
• a thin slice of butter
• 1/2 tsp of vegetable bouillon

In a mixing bowl, combine the lamb, spices, egg and breadcrumbs, and grate over a good seasoning of black pepper. Mix thoroughly and shape into four 3/4" thick patties. If you prefer your meat cooked to well done, make them half as thick. Fry in a heavy-based non-stick frying pan, to which you should add a barest trickle of oil to stop them sticking at the start. They'll need about 4 minutes per side, or until seared and brown.

Roughly chop the almonds and dried apricots; add the latter to a pyrex bowl with enough cous-cous: it will double in size when cooking, and only you know how hungry you are! Pour boiling water over the cous-cous in a 2:1 ratio and stir in the slice of butter and bouillon. Microwave, covered with a small plate, for two minutes, then leave to the side until needed; the grains will absorb any remaining water and it can be fluffed up at the end with a fork, at which point you should stir in the chopped almonds.

Tonight we served this with a couple of pita breads and a broad bean & pea salad; some yoghurt, hummus or tzatziki would also go beautifully alongside.