Last updated 19:40, Thursday, 08 May 2008

ANOTHER Andalcio family staple.

Isn’t it always super convenient to have something hanging around in the freezer for those moments when you haven’t been shopping or you’re just too tired to prepare a meal?

Wouldn’t it be better (and an ideal world) if such items were home prepared instead of a ready meal?

Well, we’re here to save the day and give you a recipe that can fulfil that brief.

It actually came about by mistake when we were experimenting different meatball recipes.

One time we made too much mixture just for the two of us, so bunged the leftovers in the freezer in the shape of burgers.

Little did we know in the following weeks, coming in late at night from work, how invaluable those little beauties would turn out to become.

Here’s our two–in–one homemade meatballs/burgers

Serves 2 (and beyond)

1 x500g pack minced turkey

1 x500g pack minced pork

1 large onion

2 sticks celery

1 large carrot

3 fat cloves garlic, crushed

Splash of oil

1 tablespoon English mustard

1 tablespoon tomato puree

tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

Dash of soy

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

Salt and pepper

Generous helping of chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, chives, rosemary, sage, thyme, coriander or a mixture of some of those if you have any.

Finely dice the onion, celery and carrot. The quickest way to do this is in a food processor if you have one. If not you can do it by hand.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the vegetables and garlic off until soft. You can let them get a bit of colour, but not too much. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool once they’re done.

Put the minced meats into a large bowl. Add the mustard, tomato puree, Worcestershire, paprika, soy and dried herbs. Give the meat a good seasoning with salt and pepper.

Add the fried vegetables once cooled.

The meatballs benefit from the addition of some fresh herbs if you have any but if you don’t they are not a matter of life or death. All in all add about 2-3 tablespoons if you are using them.

Give the meat a thorough mix to disperse all the added ingredients. It feels somewhat satisfying getting your hands dirty doing this bit!

Then we like to do a tester to check that the flavour of the meatballs is correctly balanced.

Heat up the frying pan you used for the vegetables (you may need another splash of oil) and add a very small pattie (about the size of a 50p) of the mixture to the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes each side.

Cool ever so slightly then taste the pattie.

This experiment will allow you to alter the seasoning, herbs or other flavouring if you feel they are a bit bland before you go ahead and cook them all.

So ask yourself, does the mixture need anything?

Once you are happy shape about a third to a half (as much as your appetite needs) into meat balls. Shape the remainder into burgers and wrap individually in cling film. Then pop in the freezer.

Put the meatballs onto a tray lined with foil and bake in a hot oven at 200 degrees for around 15 minutes. The cooking time is governed by how big you have made the meatballs.

Check they are cooked by cutting one open. The meat should be cooked all the way through.

These beauties are very versatile and could be served with gravy, tomato sauce, with pasta, wedges or mashed potato.

We usually have them with a baked potato filled with cream cheese and a salad with one of the above sauces.

Now for the burgers, well, you just whip them out of the freezer, defrost them thoroughly and cook them at the same temperature for around 25-30 minutes.

Bung a jacket potato in the microwave, cook some frozen peas, add a handful of salad leaves, drizzle with sweet chilli sauce and you have a delicious meal with minimal effort. Great for those last-minute emergency meals.