Nothing beats a good burger. I’ve always been in love with making burgers of all kinds. You can get a little crazy with them, I like that.

There’s just so much flavour you can put into the burger itself. That way you can go easy on the fixings, even though a little melted cheese never hurt anyone. This baby has a wicked tomato flavour while the basil gives it a nice edge and the gooey, melted mozzarella and raw red onion (or grilled, if you like) bring it all together.

I think my friend Wouter over at Fonq (their cooking section is going to bankrupt me some day!) took pity on me when he saw me messing around with my tortilla press when I was making my comeback burgers, because he send me this amazing Jamie Oliver metal burger press.

He’s gonna laugh for sure once he sees the name I gave this burger!

Ingredients:

4 hamburger buns
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 sun-dried tomatoes (I used my own dried tomatoes)
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp basil
1/2 tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes
3 tbsp Parmesan
1 ball mozzarella
salad leaves or lettuce
1 small red onion
Hellmann’s

Directions:

I used tomatoes I seasoned and dried. Instead of putting them in hot water, I decided to grind them so the flavour would get everywhere. Worked beautifully!

 
Revive your dried tomatoes by putting them in hot water for a few minutes and then finely mincing them. You can also used sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil.
 

For a good burger, you must have good-quality beef.

Add the seasonings, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan and ketchup.

Mix it all up and form 4 evenly sized patties.

Then I got to play with the metal press. It’s pretty heavy!

You just place the meat in there…

And press it down and the press makes great looking indentations on both sides. Love what it did to the burgers!

I was really impressed by it. Doesn’t happen all too often because I feel that a lot of his products are overrated.

Thinly slice the mozzarella and red onion.

Heat a stove-top grill or regular grill and give the burgers 5 to 7 minutes on each side, depending on how thick your burgers are.

Seven minutes was perfect for me. Now flip them over.

Top them with the mozzarella, it will melt as the burger continues to cook.

 
If it doesn’t melt fast enough, cover it with a lid.
 

Lightly toast the hamburger buns on the cut side and spread a thin layer of Hellmann’s on top.

 
That’s right, I said Hellmann’s. You see, I still haven’t fully recovered from the first (and last) time I ate miracle whip.
 

Top the bun with salad leaves or lettuce, the burger with melted cheese, and the thinly sliced raw onion.

We thought the result was incredible! This sure is a burger with an attitude.