Tag: weeknight dinner

Onion Smash Burger - double onion cheeseburger

Onion Smash Burgers

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I love burgers. 95% of the time I get a Deliveroo it’ll be Bleecker, Burger & Beyond, Salt Shed, Black Bear or Shake Shack. But, despite my deep love of burgers, I’ve never mastered making my own – until now. And let me tell you, making an incredible burger could not be more simple. It all comes down to the meat you use – the quality and the fat content. This burger itself is literally just salt & minced beef, so as you could imagine you really want a delicious, high quality mince to bring the flavour. The other thing you need is at least 20% fat – this will bring with it yet more flavour and juiciness. The rest of the toppings are up to you & how you like to eat your burgers. I like mine super simple – onions and American cheese. I don’t like to overpower that delicious patty.

These burgers were inspired by a recent trip to the George Motz x Bleecker burger pop-up. This was his 1 UK stop on his burger tour and my friend Ros & I were lucky enough to get one (after a 3 hour queue, and I would do it again). Motz did smash burgers with onions – you make these but putting a ball of meat on the grill, sprinkling on some raw, sliced, white onion, seasoning it and smashing it down using a spatula. Smash burgers are meant to be thin with slightly rugged and crispy edges – but they’re still juicy af in the middle. I never thought I’d be able to make a burger that came close to the ones I order but this recipe will get you pretty damn close! The burgers are crisp on the edges, but so juicy in the middle. The cheese melts & mixes in with the fat and the bread soaks up any drippage. And did I mention they literally take under 15 mins to coo? Yeah, you have to try these.

Onion Smash Burgers

Serves 2 | Cooks in 15 mins

Ingredients

320-360g high quality 20% fat mince meat

4 slices American cheese

2 burger buns

1/2 white onion, thinly sliced into half moons

Veg oil & butter for cooking

Salt for seasoning

Method

  1. Divide your meat into 80-90g portions and roll into a ball.
  2. Melt a knob of butter in a cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add the buns cut side down and toast until lightly golden. Set these aside
  3. Wipe out the pan to get rid of any bread crumbs, coat the bottom of the pan in veg oil and turn the heat to medium high.
  4. Once the pan is very hot, add a ball of mince meat. You’ll need to work very quickly – season very generously with salt, and top with a quarter of the sliced onion. Place a wide metal spatula on top of the ball, and press down using the end of another spatula. You want your meat to be <1cm thick – we want crispy edges!
  5. Cook on one side for 1-2 mins until the meat is caramelised and a little crispy. Flip the patty and add the cheese on top. Cook for another 1-2 mins until the cheese is melted, the bottom of the patty is caramelised and the onions have taken on some colour.
  6. Repeat this for the remaining 3 patties.
  7. Stack 2 patties per bun & serve with your choice of sauce/pickles. Let me know in the comments how you have your burgers!
Cheesy, Tomatoey Sausage Pasta Bake

Cheesy, Tomatoey, Italian Sausage Pasta Bake

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This is one of my go to comfort, hangover dishes. We’re talking cheesy carbs with a real punch of herby, tomatoey flavour. This dish was inspired by one of my fave Chrissy Tiegen recipes – her pasta alla norma. I really liked what she called ‘mozzarella bombs’ – her dish and this one have chunks of mozzarella studded throughout the pasta that get all melty and stretchy as the pasta bakes. When your fork hits a mozzarella clump its like the best treasure discovery you’ve ever experienced. I mean just look at the cheese pull in that pic. The portion sizes on this dish are quite large, because I’m basing it on what I’d eat on a very hungover Sunday (which turns out to be enough pasta for a 2 person standard serving). So be warned when you’re making this – I would say it serves 2 high appetite people, or 3-4 regular appetite.

Cheesy, Tomatoey, Sausage Pasta Bake

Serves 2-3 (2 very hungry) | 1 hour + 40 mins baking

Ingredients

1tbsp olive oil

1tsp butter

1 white onion, sliced crossways into thin half moons

1/2 my Italian Sausage Meat without the garlic

2-3 large cloves garlic minced

2tbsp tomato puree

1 400g tin whole plum tomatoes

Hanful parsley minced

Hanfdul basil minced

A few sprigs of rosemary minced

300g short pasta of choice, rigatoni or dusili

125g ricotta

150g ball of mozzarella cut into 1.5cm cubes

A grating of parm to taste

Method

  1. Heat the oil and buttere in a large saucepan or casserole over low heat. Once melted, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook with the lid on, stirring often, until it partially caramelises (~15-20 mins).
  2. Once the onions are ready, push to one side of thee pan and splash a little oil in the other. Turn the heat to medium/high. Add the sausage meat – don’t stir for the first minute or 2. You want to form a nice caramelised crust. At this point start to break up the sausage into large chunks. Cook until caramelised all over and a nice fond has formed. Stir through with the onions.
  3. Add the garlic and good for a minute or two until fragrant.
  4. Add the tomato puree, stir and cook for another few minutes until slightly darkened in colour.
  5. Add the tomatoes and about half a tin of water, crush the tomatoes into smaller chunks with a spatula. Add the herbs. Bring to the boil and then immediately turn the heat to low.
  6. Simmer for 20-25 mins. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in heavily salted boiling water until al dente.
  7. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan
  8. Once the sauce is cooked, stir through the ricotta and add salt, pepper and parm and taste for seasoning. Add the pasta and 3/4 of the mozzarella chunks – stir to combine and transfer to your baking dish.
  9. Bake in the oven for 30-40 mins until bubbling and the mozzarella is nice and melty. Leave on the side for 5 mins and serve!
Pistachio Pesto Pasta With Burrata

Pistachio Pesto Pasta With Burrata

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This is another one of my super quick & easy pasta dishes, but this one has a little extra wow (and by wow I mean a whole burrata on top). Which makes this the perfect dish for trying to impress friends with very little prep time. It consists pasta, a super flavourful and simple pistachio pesto and a whole burrata on top. What’s not to love? My favourite pasta to use here is trofie. This is an eggless semolina based pasta, which means the texture is a little chewier and has more bite than a standard egg pasta. This pasta type + pasta water and pesto make for a really luxurious feeling sauce. I’ve added pancetta to mine for a little extra salty crunch, but this is totally optional. It’s just as delicious without!

Pistachio Pesto Pasta With Burrata

Serves 2 | 20mins cook + prep

Ingredients

30g basil

1/2tbsp pine nuts

2tbsp pistachios

1 clove garlic

30g grated parmesan

4tbsp extra virgin olive oil + more to serve.

180g pasta (I prefer to use trofie for this)

1 burrata

Optional: 90g pancetta

Method

  1. Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan over medium high heat until lightly toasted – watch this like a hawk as it can burn really quickly. Set aside to cool
  2. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve a mug of pasta water near the end of the cooking time.
  3. If using, add the pancetta to a cold pan and put this over medium high heat. Cook until crisp and the fat has rendered.
  4. Meanwhile, make your pesto. Pestle & Mortar method (my preferred method, see notes): add the cooled nuts, garlic and a pinch of salt to a mortar and grind using the pestle in circular motions, pushing the mix against the edge of the bowl, until it forms a paste. Next add the basil (you may need to do this in stages to get it to fit) and grind until a paste forms. Add the grated parmesan, grind to combine. Transfer this mix to another bowl and add the olive oil while stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Alternatively, if you prefer to use a food processor, add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until a paste forms. Season to taste
  6. Once cooked, combine the pasta with the pesto, pancetta (if using) and a splash of cooking water – add more if needed reach your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
  7. Transfer to a serving dish, place the burrata on top and cut it open, allowing the creamy middle to run over the pasta. Add more salt & pepper on top, and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Note: I generally prefer the pestle & mortar method as a food processor can bruise the basil and leave you with a bitter tasting pesto. The pestle and mortar method makes for a much creamier pesto

Pasta Puttanesca

Puttanesca (-esque) Sauce

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I learnt about this sauce from the Series of Unfortunate Events movie (IYKYK) and I’ve never looked back. Its a super salty, umami, rich tomatoey sauce – it really packs a punch without feeling too heavy. This is such a great go to weeknight dinner, sped up even more by using a frozen batch of my marinara. I always have a stock of this in my freezer as it can be adapted for so many dishes, and having the sauce ready knocks a good 20 mins off cooking times. This is another of my 15 minute pasta dishes where the sauce is prepped & cooked in the time it takes the pasta to cook. I’ve called this puttaensca-esque as I’ve included tuna which the original doesn’t – I love the addition of tuna for some extra fishiness and protein which keeps me fuller longer.

Putanesca (-esque) Sauce

Serves 1 | 15 mins prep + cook

Ingredients

100g fusilli or other short pasta (or 75g if you aren’t very hungry like me 95% of the time)

1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced

3 jarred/tinned anchovy fillets

1/2 tin tuna (drained)

1/4 batch of my marinara sauce

35g black olives roughly chopped

1tbsp capers

Sprinkle of chilli flakes, to taste

Handful parsley finely chopped

Squeeze of lemon to taste

Parmesan to serve

Method

  1. Cook the pasta in a heavily salted pan of water until al dente.
  2. Meanwhile, heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the anchovies and fry, stirring often, until they dissolve into the oil.
  3. Add the garlic and frying until golden. Keep a close eye on this as this will burn quickly. Add the tuna and stir until combined
  4. Reduce the heat to low and add the marinara, capers, olives and chilli flakes (if using). Stir until warmed through. If the sauce is too thick at this point, add some pasta water to reach the desired consistency.
  5. Take off the heat, add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Stir through the parsley (reserve some to serve) and set aside.
  6. Once the pasta is cooked, combine with the sauce and serve with the remaining parsley sprinkled on top and some grated parmesan.