Burgers and Chips

Emma's pick of the week is krabby patties with cheese and coral bits.  So heres whats cooking for dinner!

You will need:

Equipment:

• A bowl
• A sharp knife
• A cutting board
• A skillet or heavy frying pan ( or a Grill )

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground sirloin
• 1 half onion grated or finely chopped
• 4 pinches ground coriander
• 4 pinches paprika powder
• A dash of fresh ground black pepper
• A pinch of salt
• A tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg lightly beaten

First, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and using your hands, shape into four balls. Turn the heat to medium under the skillet and add a tiny amount of oil. When the skillet is hot, add the burgers, pushing them flat with a spatula. Cook for about 3 minutes each side for medium rare, longer for well done and less for rare.

Just before the burgers are ready, toast the inside of the buns under a broiler or over a grill or in a toaster. If using a grill or broiler, spread a little butter on the buns first. Add ypour toppings and serve.

And now for the best part....the chips!

You will need:

Equipment:

• A wide, thick based, tall saucepan
• A frying basket
• A serving dish
• A sharp knife
• A butcher block cutting board
• Paper towels

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Oil – Peanut oil is best.
• Salt

First, peel the potatoes and slice them into chips. Cut them lengthwise, about ½ inch thick, and then cut them into slices about ¼ inch wide. Fatter is healthier. Put the sliced potatoes in a bowl of cold water to cover them We will wash the excess starch off in the water. Leave them to soak while the oil is heating.

Now, pour the oil into the pan, making sure that it doesn’t come more than a third of the way up the pan. This is also important – If there is too much oil in the pan, there is a risk of the oil bubbling over the top. This we do not want.

Next, heat the oil on a high heat to around 375F. If you do not have a thermometer, just drop a small piece of potato in the oil – when it floats, the oil is hot enough.

When the oil is hot, dry the potatoes thoroughly, place in a frying basket and lower them into the oil slowly.

When the chips are covered, and the bubbling has stopped, cover the pan and cook the chips for about 6 minutes. This is to blanch the potatoes and do the actual cooking. They should not be brown when you stop this, just cooked. Now take the chips out of the pan and allow the oil to heat back up to around 390F.

When the oil has reheated, put the chips back in the pan to brown.

This should only take a couple of minutes. A soon as they turn golden brown, remove them and place on paper towels in the serving dish. After a few seconds, the excess fat will drain of into the towels. Remove the towels, sprinkle the chips with a little salt and serve hot. They must be served immediately, or they will go soggy