Fuel My Friday: Matt's Homemade Burgers

8 Jan 2021

European Junior Champion Matt Richards is on hand with the first #FuelMyFriday recipe of 2021 - and he is kicking the year off with a classic. 

Matt's 2020 included a permanent relocation to the Bath National Centre, before he headed over to Budapest to compete for New York Breakers in the second International Swimming League (ISL) campaign. 

As the new year begins, the 17-year-old British junior 100m Freestyle record holder will be looking to build on some promising ISL displays and his 2019 European Junior Swimming Championships title. And if he is need of a post-training boost in the months ahead, this healthy homemade burger could be an ideal option. Over to you, Matt...

I really do like a homemade burger for dinner. They're relatively healthy when done well (you can have them with or without the buns, a nice side salad and some sweet potato wedges) and they can really hit the spot after training. 

Ingredients

  • 500g lean mince beef
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 1 egg
  • 12 cream crackers, in fine crumbs
  • 2 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 chilli, diced/2 tsp chilli paste
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tsp tomato ketchup
  • 1 tsp brown sauce
  • 1 little gem lettuce
  • Olive oil 
  • Burger rolls, optional 
  • Toppings of your choice, to serve

Matt Richards

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the diced onion until soft. Take them off the heat and, when cool, put the onion into a large bowl with the lean mince, egg, cracker crumbs, chilli, garlic, ketchup and brown sauce, and mix well to combine. 
  2. Divide the mixture into portions, roll them into ball shapes and then flatten them out into thick burger shapes (they will get thinner as you cook).
  3. Pour the flour on to a plate, gently dip each burger in the flour on both sides and transfer to a baking tray. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 1-2 hours. 
  4. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius/gas mark six. Drizzle the burgers in some olive oil and put them in the oven for 20-30 minutes, flipping them over halfway through, until cooked through.
  5. Serve the burgers on top of bed of little gem lettuce leaves with toppings of your choice, next to a healthy side salad and with some sweet potato wedges if you fancy them.