Burgers for tea tonight

Adrian is coming at 8am tomorrow to fit the special new condensing combination boiler so we are clearing off to the seaside for the weekend. Hurrah! When we get back the house will be warm and there'll be plenty of hot water and the shower will be more powerful than ever before...even the body jets (not holding my breath).
Robert is conveniently working a bit late tonight. Late enough to miss the bedtime shenanigans but he should be home just in time for his tea. So in between doing the books "Mummy read it!!!" and warming icy pyjamas with a mini hot-water bottle and packing an overnight bag for us all I will be using the pack of mince I have in the fridge to makes burgers purely because I can get them on the table in 15 minutes and a good Bolognese (what I really would like to eat) takes hours to cook down. Anyway, we all like a burger. I always make them this way, varying the flavourings depending on whatever herbs etc I have in the fridge and I like to add a bit of chopped bacon or pancetta if I have any. I'm sorry about the photo, I'm a bit pushed for time so I nicked it from my Family book

Makes 4
2 red chillies, seeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
2 dill pickles, roughly chopped
1 thick slice of white bread, crusts on
1 small egg
500 g organic minced beef
4 slices Port Salut, Jarlsberg or Cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 crusty buns

Place the chillies, garlic, parsley and gherkin in a food processor and tear in the white bread. Whizz until the bread breaks into crumbs then transfer to a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the egg, beef and plenty of salt and pepper – you may need to use your hands if you find the mixture difficult to blend.

Shape into four even-sized burgers with a thickness of no more than 1cm. Cook in a preheated griddle pan or under the grill for 3 – 4 minutes on each side until nicely browned but still just a touch pink in the centre.

Split open the buns and place a burger on the base of each. Top with a slice of cheese and maybe a smudge of mustard .