spanish burgers & mayonnaise

Serves 4

Preparation time 20 minutes, plus soaking

Cooking time 16 minutes

1 small white bread roll

2 garlic cloves, crushed

100 ml (3½ fl oz) mayonnaise

1 onion, roughly chopped

450 g (14½ oz) lean minced beef

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon chopped oregano

10 pimiento-stuffed green olives, roughly chopped

olive oil, for brushing

1 beefsteak tomato

4 canned anchovy fillets, drained and halved lengthways

salt and pepper

Tear up the bread roll and put in a bowl. Cover with cold water and leave to soften for 15 minutes.

Beat one of the garlic cloves and a little salt and pepper into the mayonnaise and transfer to a small serving dish. Set aside.

Squeeze all the water out of the bread and put the bread in a food processor with the onion, remaining garlic, minced beef, egg and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, and process briefly to mix. Add the olives and process until they are chopped into the mixture. Shape into 4 even-sized burgers and place on the upper rack of the halogen oven. Brush with oil.

Set the temperature to 200°C (392°F) and grill the burgers for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, until cooked through.

Cut 4 slices, each about 1 cm (½ inch) thick, from the tomato and place a slice over each burger. Arrange the anchovies on top and cook for a further 1 minute. Serve with the garlic mayonnaise and a leafy salad.

For chilli burgers with tomato salsa, make the burgers as above, replacing the olives with 1 deseeded and finely chopped fresh red chilli. Cook as above, omitting the tomato and anchovy topping. For the salsa, halve and scoop the pulp from 200 g (7 oz) vine-ripened tomatoes. Press through a sieve over a bowl, removing the juice; reserve. Finely chop the tomato and mix with 2 finely chopped spring onions, a handful of chopped coriander, 2 teaspoons caster sugar, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, the reserved tomato juice and a little salt and pepper. Serve with the burgers.