Bleu Cheese Burgers with Homemade Buns

Who doesn't crave a good burger once in a while? Be it chicken, meat, or veggie, a burger is always a comforting, easy to please kind of meal.

Personally, I crave the meat variety. A nice, homemade juicy beef burger with that smoky charcoal grill taste. And of course, stuffed with some pungent bleu cheese then served on a home baked bun topped with all sorts of condiments? To die for!

Above is an example of how to "stuff" the burgers. Take the meat and flatten into a patty. Place some cheese in the middle, then close in all the sides to make a sort of ball. Flatten and you've got your stuffed burger!

Of course, if you don't have time to make buns, you don't have to....

But honestly, it doesn't take a whole lot of work, and look at the results!!

Bleu Cheese Burgers

Makes 8 burgers

1 kg Ground Beef

1 Large Onion, chopped

3 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1/4 cup Ketchup

1 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Fresh Black Pepper

100 grams Bleu Cheese (divided into 8)

Olive oil

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the bleu cheese. Divide the mixture into 8 parts. Form each part into a large flattened patty and place 1 part of the blue cheese in the centre. Fold the edges of the patty over the bleu cheese to close. Repeat with the remaining beef to create 8 patties stuffed with bleu cheese.

Rub each patty with a little olive oil. Place the patties on a preheated grill or grill pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until there are grill marks on each side and the patties are cooked through.

Serve with homemade buns and condiments.

Whole Wheat Burger Buns

Recipe from http://www.acefitness.org/healthyrecipes/882/whole-wheat-burger-buns

Makes 8 buns

1 cup low-fat milk, room temperature

1/3 cup lukewarm water

2 1/4 tsp Active Dried Yeast

1 large egg, at room temperature (see Cooking tip), lightly beaten

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or canola oil

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 cups (appr unbleached all-purpose flour

Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Place the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand for about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the milk, sugar, salt, oil and yeast mixture. Slowly add the flours, stirring to create a soft, sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for about 10 minutes. Return the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.

When the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Lightly dust a baking sheet with cornmeal. Shape each piece of dough into a tight ball and place on the prepared baking sheet a few inches apart. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes, until they have risen by half. Gently press down on the buns to flatten a little. Let them rise for another 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the buns on the center rack until golden and crusty, about 25 minutes. The bottoms should sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing.