Beef Lindström with parsley butter and dill pickled cucumber

Ingredients

800g beef mince

3 tablespoons pickled beetroot

3 tablespoons capers

3 tablespoons pickled gherkins

3 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

5 sprigs thyme, leaves finely chopped

Butter

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Worcestershire sauce

Clarified butter for frying

For the parsley butter:

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Small handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

1 teaspoon lemon zest

A splash of red wine vinegar

For the dill pickled cucumber:

Cucumber, very thinly sliced, preferably on a mandolin

100ml spirit vinegar

200ml caster sugar

300ml water

1 small bunch of roughly chopped dill

1 bay leaf

1 ‘star’ of star-anise

Method

Start by making the pickled cucumber, so it has time to pickle. This pickling liquor is called a 1,2,3 liquor, as the vinegar, sugar and water are used at a ratio of 1:2:3 respectively, so it’s easy to make different quantities, and you can use it to pickle all sorts!

Add the sugar, vinegar, water, bay leaf and star anise to a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Pour into a mixing bowl and leave to cool. Once it’s cool, add the thinly sliced cucumber and chopped dill, then put it in the fridge. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and stir over a low heat until soft, but not browned. Then add the thyme and fry for another minute or two. Put into a food processor with the beetroots, gherkins and capers, and mix to a relatively smooth puree.

Put the mince and blended puree in a mixing bowl. Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands or a wooden spoon. To check the mix has enough flavour, make a mini patty (50p sized). Fry for a couple of minutes on both sides, and taste to decide whether you need to add anything. When you’re happy with the flavour, divide the mixture into 4 large patties or 8 smaller ones. Shape into 1½ cm thick patties with your hands or flatten on a chopping board, shaping with the flat of a knife into attractive round patties (basically burger shaped!).

Put the ingredients for the parsley butter in a food processor and mix until completely blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Take a length of greaseproof paper and spoon the parsley butter in a line along the length of the paper. Roll the paper over the butter, shaping into a neat even roll, approximately the size of a 10p coin. Put the roll in the fridge.

Heat a teaspoon of the clarified butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. When it’s hot, fry the beef patties for 4-5 minutes on each side until they’re browned and springy to the touch. Run a sharp knife under hot water and slice 1½ cm thick discs of butter from the roll. Remove the paper from the butter slices and put a slice on top of each patty. Serve with the pickled cucumber and boiled new potatoes.

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