Be still my beating heart! When I first saw stuffed-burgers on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, I almost fainted. Well not really, but you know what I mean (my husband says I have a talent for over-reacting)! What could be better than a juicy, beefy burger stuffed with oozy, melting mozzarella cheese? Not much, if I have to be honest! If you know me, you know I have a serious burger addiction and I even ordered a cheeseburger in Malaysia!!

Of course, you don’t have to stick to mozzarella for stuffing the burgers. Gorgonzola would be lovely if paired with a sweet and tangy onion marmalade, mature cheddar would be fab if the burgers are topped with guacamole and crispy bacon and can you imagine how delicious feta would be if the burger is topped with tzatziki? Yum!!

A word of warning though, these burgers are quite big and even my brothers were shocked at their size so if you want, you can halve the amount of beef mince (ground beef) used for each burger. I used 200g and they were real monsters! I served them with rocket and quick caramelised onions that I added some chilli jam to. Just delicious!

Serves 4 (if you’re making 200g burgers)

800g lean beef mince
1 egg
1-2 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
pepper to taste
100g mozzarella, grated/thinly sliced
to serve
fresh breadrolls
fresh rocket

caramelised onions
sliced tomato

1. To make the burgers, combine the beef mince, egg, salt, smoked paprika and pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Fry a small amount of the mixture in a hot frying pan and taste. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
2. Divide the mixture into 8 even-sized balls. Take one of the balls and flatten in your hand to form a flat patty, place 1/4 of the mozzarella in the middle of the patty and top with another mince ball. Flatten the ball with your other hand and crimp the edges of the two patties together to seal the cheese inside.
3. Place the patties on a greased tray and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
4. When the patties have been chilled, fry in a hot frying pan for 4-5 minutes per side (or until cooked to your liking).
5. Serve the patties on fresh rolls with rocket, caramelised onions and sliced tomato.