Caramelised Onion Hamburgers

You may have seen I made some caramelised onions recently, as I had planned to cook a couple of things from Nigella Express (now out in paperback, and it would appear the spaghetti from the hardback is now cooked) which called for such from a jar, which I was unable to get my hands on. I said I would use them in burgers, which I did, and cannot now think why I haven’t shared these sooner, because, as expected, they were amazing! The recipe is adapted from Nigella Express, one of the changes being an increase in the amount of caramelised onions. My serving suggestion would also be different, if still merely a suggestion – in buns, toasted if you like, topped with mature cheddar cheese, and a dollop of the ubiquitous gooey onions, preferably not fridge-cold.

Caramelised Onion Hamburgers (makes 2, and see serving suggestion above)

• 250g good minced beef
• 2 tablespoons caramelised onions (from a jar, if you like)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Place the minced beef and onions into a bowl. Crack the egg over and add the sauces. Season with freshly ground black pepper, and mix to combine. The best way, I think, to do this is to get in there with your hands and give everything a good mix, but, if you must, you can use a spoon instead.

Divide the mixture into two portions, and shape them into burgers. Again, the easiest way is by hand, squeezing the portion of meat first into a ball, then pressing, quite firmly, into a patty, finally tidying the edges and shaping into a round. Thinner and wider works better here – fat and squat may mean the outsides begin to blacken before the inside is cooked. Place the burgers on a plate, cover with cling film, and chill in the fridge for half an hour to firm up.

Preheat the grill to high, and grill the burgers for 15 minutes, turning at the half way point, or until cooked through. Serve immediately.

Caramelised Onions

I cannot begin to describe how delicious these are! Incredibly sweet, slightly tangy, so many potential uses. I had planned to cook a couple of things from Nigella Express this week, which called for caramelised onions from a jar. I wasn’t able to find these in my local supermarket, perhaps as they were quite far down my list and I’d already been wondering around for hours, so I decided to make them for myself. How hard could it be?

After a quick google, I took what I thought were the best parts of several recipes, and set to work. The resulting sticky mess of soft brown onions was exactly what I wanted, and luckily this made enough for several recipes. They should keep ok in the fridge for this week at least. I used these in the ‘rapid ragu’ from Nigella Express, and also intend to make beef burgers later in the week with these added to the mix, but feel they would be great in a number of ways – spread on good bread, with a nice, strong cheddar perhaps, mixed into some buttery mashed potato, in a warmed ciabatta with some lovely steak, the list goes on. Oh, and I missed just greedily eaten with a spoon, straight from the fridge.

Caramelised Onions (probably made about 200g!)

• 3 large-ish onions
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 slightly heaped tablespoons soft, light muscovado sugar
• 2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

Halve the onions and then slice into thin half moons. Separate the slices a little with your fingers.

Heat the oil in a pan that’s large enough to hold all of the onions more or less in a thin layer at the bottom, and one which you have a lid for, over a fairly high heat. Add the onions and stir them around to coat in the oil.

Sprinkle the sugar over the onions, and give everything a good stir. Onions do have plenty of natural sugar, but adding a little extra will help the process along. Then add the Balsamic, and stir everything again. Put the lid on the pan, and cook for at least twenty minutes, until everything is nicely browned, sticky and sweet. I turned the heat down a little around half way through, and (carefully) shook the lidded pan a few times during cooking, to make sure nothing burned.