# Recipes

Category: Beef recipes
Name: Hamburger
Procedure:
1. Mix the beef, together with any optional ingredients, in a food processor for about 10-30 seconds. If your beef is not yet ground, you may have to mix for a minute or so.
2. Remove the beef from the food processor and shape by hand into burgers. You should get between 4-6 burgers from 500g (1.1 lb) of beef. 
3. The burgers can be fried or grilled for about 5 mins on each side for burgers which aren't too thick.
4. Ensure your burgers are fully cooked through before serving. If your burgers are quite thick or if you are unsure, you can cut one open to ensure the insides are browned. If the insides are red, there is a chance that the meat is not fully cooked. Alternately, you can insert a meat thermometer into the center of the burger, if the temperature reads less than 71°C (160°F), your burger is undercooked.
5. Serve each burger on a bun (sesame seed usually), optionally with relish, sliced pickles, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, ranch dressing, cheese, lettuce, tomato and/or onion.

Some suggestions of what to add to the meat include: garlic, onion flakes or a small onion, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, mustard, olive oil, cheese, butter and/or 2 tsp of your favorite hot sauce for some kick. The amounts of herbs and/or spices are up to your local taste and meat quality. Depending on the quality of your local beef, for example, you may wish to add some beef stock to improve the flavour. If you add any liquids, mix the ground beef well then squeeze out the extra juice when forming patties.


Category: Italian recipes
Name: Spaghetti Bolognese
Procedure:
1. Mix the coarsely chopped onion, carrot, celery and fennel (optional) together and finely chop them (this is called a battuto in Italian, or a finely chopped mixture of vegetables and herbs to flavour a dish) 
2. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat and add the battuto 
3. Cook, stirring occasionally until very lightly browned 
4. Add this mixture to a heavy pot 
5. Heat the olive oil in the skillet the battuto was browned in and when the oil is hot, add the beef and stir to break up lumps, cooking until well browned 
6. Add to the battuto in the pot 
7. Add the wine to the skillet the beef was in and stir on high heat, scraping any brown bits stuck to the pan 
8. Add the tomato paste and stock and stir until well mixed and add this mixture to the pot 
9. Drain and coarsely chop the plum tomatoes and add them to the pot 
10. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, with bubbles barely breaking the surface 
11. Simmer, stirring occasionally for an hour (or more), until thick 
12. Add pepper to taste, and salt if necessary to taste 
13. When the sauce is ready, bring a gallon (4 litres) of water to a full boil over high heat in a large pot 
14. Add the pasta, give it a brisk stir to ensure it is all covered by water and not clumped together. Cook for about 10-12 minutes, or until al dente (firm but not hard, there should still be a bit of 'bite' when chewing pasta, rather than soggy and mushy) 
15. Drain the pasta well and serve immediately 
16. Spoon the Bolognese sauce over the pasta and have guests garnish with the grated Parmesan cheese. 


