Q: I find that a lot of pre-made and fast food joints make burgers stuffed with all sorts of rubbish how can I make the best beef burger that doesn’t shrink and loose flavour?

A: Beef burgers are very easy to make at home and can also be much healthier as you know exactly whats going into them. When buying the mince buy the best quality lean mince you can afford, but with a little fat to keep it moist. The  jungle oats or breadcrumbs in the mix helps to retain moisture and keep the patties nice and juicy.

Next month at Wickedfood Cooking School we will be teaching a 30 minute meals class where we will be making these burgers along with Thai vegetable curry, chicken breast with feta and pasta, chilli steak wraps, penne with a rich tomato vodka cream sauce,and  fried fish with oven chips. A great class to introduce anyone into the kitchen or just to get new and exciting meals to make after a a long day at the office.

Mince patties
250g beef mince
1 egg
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup Jungle oats or breadcrumbs
1T tomato sauce
1/2T chutney
1t Worcestershire sauce
1t salt

1T grapeseed oil
4 round bread rolls
Tomato sauce (optional)
1 onion (preferably red), thinly sliced (optional)
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
4 salad leaves, washed and dried

Making the meat patties

• Combine the meat patty ingredients together in a large bowl ensuring that they are well mixed.
• Divide the meat patties into 4, place each portion of mince onto a board and mould into flat round shapes, about the size of the rolls.

Making the burgers

• Slice the rolls open and spread the base with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Cover with a thin layer of onion and tomato.
  The patties can be either grilled or fried.
  • To fry – heat the oil in a pan, and then fry the patties, in two batches, on each side for about 4 minutes. Keep warm.
  • To grill – heat the grill, and once hot, place the patties on a grill pan, lined with foil, grilling each side for about 4 minutes, until done. Keep warm.
• Place a meat patty into each roll, topped with a lettuce leaf.

Serves 2

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School Johannesburg runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Q: Do you have a recipe for a tasty beef bolognese sauce?

A: Bolognese sauce is a meat based sauce mainly used for pasta dishes (lasagna and spaghetti Bolognese) originating form a small town in Italy named Bologna. It is best for the sauce to have a long cooking time (5-6 hours) this makes the meat become very tender and allows all the flavours to really develop into a wonderfully rich tasty sauce.

At Wickedfood Cooking School we have this tasty recipe in both our corporate and team building classes as well as our individual cooking classes. With the most popular being this fantastic one.

Bolognaise sauce

There are 4 important points to remember when making a Bolognaise (from Bologna) sauce.

1. Chop the vegetables to about 2mm squares. They should be of equal size, and a small as possible so as not to be identified once the sauce is cooked.
2. The meat must be sautéed just barely long enough to lose its raw colour. It must not brown or it will lose delicacy.
3. It must be cooked in milk before the tomatoes are added. This keeps the meat creamier and sweeter tasting.
4. It must cook at the merest simmer for a long, long time, up to 5 hours.

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
3T oil
3T (45g) butter
2 stalks celery, finely chopped

4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
500g minced lean beef
Salt
1 cup (250ml) dry red or white wine
1/2 cup (125ml) milk
Pinch nutmeg
1 tin chopped tomatoes

1. In a heavy casserole dish or pot, the deepest one you have, melt the butter with the oil (oil prevents butter from burning). Sauté the onion briefly over medium heat, until just translucent. Add the celery and carrot and cook gently until fragrant and soft, over a low heat, taking care that the onions do not change colour.
2. Add the minced beef, crumbling it in the pot with a fork. Add salt to taste, stir, and cook only until the meat has lost its raw, red colour.
3. Add the wine; turn the heat up to medium high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the wine has evaporated.
4. Turn the heat down to medium, add the milk and the nutmeg, and cook until the milk has evaporated. Stir frequently.
5. When the milk has evaporated, add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly.
6. When the tomatoes have started to bubble, turn the heat down until the sauce cooks at the gentlest simmer, just an occasional bubble. Cook, covered, for a minimum of 31/2 to 5 hours, stirring occasionally (add water, a 1/2 cup at a time if it seems too dry). Taste and check seasoning. (If you cannot keep an eye on the sauce for such a long stretch, you can turn off the heat and resume cooking it later on. But do finish cooking it in one day).
7. Serve with short pastas as the Italians do, or with spaghetti as the Americans do, or use as a sauce for lasagne.

Serves 4, for 500g dried pasta

Note: The sauce can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days, or frozen. Reheat and simmer for about 15 minutes before using.

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Boksburg – (011) 823-5365 boksburg@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.