Homemade burgers and crispy french fries with McCain

I’m all for messy play. We’re a clay modelling, painting, papier mache kind of a family. The house is far from pristine. I figure I’ll find my house proud self once the children leave home. (Who am I kidding?) Creative activities are great, but nothing makes me happier than a messy play style activity that involves something edible at the end of it. Hence why my boys have taken over Friday tea time and turned it into #Friesday.

For Friday is the day for the kids to take control of the kitchen, to ditch the meal planner and let them make (with a little supervision of course) their favourite meal for the whole family to enjoy, and kick off the weekend in style. This week it’s homemade burgers. They’re the ultimate creative messy play. You can pretty much add what you like in terms of flavours, but they tend to keep it reasonably ‘regular’ given they know they’re eating their creations for tea later.

McCain Crispy French Fries are the perfect accompaniment to these burgers. I serve some salad bits too as my boys are not fans of baked beans, but you could add any veggies you like. I also often serve crudités whilst they’re all waiting for their tea to cook.

Do your kids have a favourite #Friesday tea? Let the kids take the reins in the kitchen this #Friesday by putting down your apron and letting them make tea for everyone to enjoy. Let us know by tagging @McCainUK and using the #Friesday hashtag on social media.

McCain Crispy French Fries are available from the following stores: Tesco – 1.4kg, £2.00 (current offer, previously £2.80), Tesco – 900g, £2.00 and Waitrose – 900g, £2.00.

Homemade Burgers and McCain Crispy French Fries

By Holly Bell on 11/25/2016

Prep Time: 16 minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes

Yield: Serves a family of 4, but scale up or down accordingly

Ingredients:

50g cornflakes (you can use cream crackers or breadcrumbs if you prefer)
500g good quality steak mince
½ tsp salt
1 tsp freshly milled black pepper
1 egg yolk
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
350g McCain Crispy French Fries
4 burger buns (brioche are delicious if you can get hold of them)
Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and cheese to add to the buns
Carrot and cucumber crudités to serve

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 230°C/Fan 220°C/Gas Mark 8. Place the McCain Crispy French Fries onto a baking tray in one even layer and bake in the oven for between 14 – 16 minutes, turning occasionally until crisp and light golden. Make the burgers by bashing the cornflakes in a plastic bag with a rolling pin until they’re a breadcrumb consistency. Tip into a bowl and add the mince, salt, pepper, yolk, onion, garlic, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Use your hands to scrunch the burger mix up until it’s well combined. Divide into quarters and form into patties. Place on a plate covered with greaseproof paper, cover with clingfilm and chill for 10 minutes. Fry the burgers in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Use a slice to press the burgers down so that they are in full contact with the pan. (This helps them to stay flat and not shrink and curl as much). Fry for 3 - 4 minutes on each side then assemble your burgers in their buns with lettuce, tomato, cheese and any relish you like. Serve the burgers and fries with carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, tomatoes and any other salad vegetables you have in the fridge.

This post was supported by McCain.