Crispy Chive Picnic Patties with Camembert Filling
Crispy Chive Picnic Patties with Camembert Filling
Crispy, herby & oozy
Picnic season is here again, if the nice weather holds out, and that means I get to think about food for the outside.
BBQs or picnics, I’m not too particular about the occasion but thinking about the food is what it’s all about for me.
For BBQs, burgers are a no brainer!
Who doesn’t love a sensational home-made burger full of fresh herbs and juicy from the barbie?
I know I do, but only if they are made in the kitchen and not those horrible thin little monsters that people pass off as a burger.
Usually they have no taste, flavour or even texture except for bits of gristle from an unknown origin, and that’s not something I want to eat myself, so why would I want to give them to other people?
Some types of burgers are just right for a BBQ and some aren’t, id stick to inside cooking and outside eating for these little tasty treats.
They travel well and if made just the right size, are perfect to be eaten with one hand in only three of four mouthfuls – the other hand can be occupied with a napkin or even glass of something cool.
The tips to making these Crispy Chive Picnic Patties with Camembert Filling
a success is pretty easy.
Covering the uncooked patties in cornflour, not moving them around when they’re cooking and limiting how many are cooking at once, means that they get a dark crispy coating and keep the tasty cheese hunkered inside.
When I make these, I use whatever cheese I have lurking in my fridge, I’ve used a nice strong cheddar, blue cheeses of various kinds and milder cheeses like the camembert in this recipe, all work really well.
Sometimes they don’t get to the picnic at all, well not all of them anyway, fabulous fresh cooked and warm, I admit to making more than I need and helping myself to a few before they lose their heat – cooks perks, those that do get to the picnic won’t be around for long either.
If you want more ideas for a picnic, have a look at the Turkey Sausage Rolls, Ciabatta Loaf Sandwich, Sun Blushed Tomato Tapanade
Go on, give them a go and let me know how you get on?!
Enjoy your sweet life.
Crispy Chive Picnic Patties with Camembert Filling
What You Need
500g Mince Beef
½ of a Small Camembert – Cut into chunks – See Tip Box
Two Bunches of fresh chives – See Tip Box
1 Bunch of Fresh Mint
1 Bunch of Spring Onions – Cleaned, topped and tailed
1 Red Pepper – De-seeded
1 Slice of Bread - Optional – See Tip Box
Maldon Salt – To Taste
Fresh Black Pepper – To Taste
Cornflour to drench – See Tip Box
A Couple of Good Glugs of Vegetable oil for cooking
Spring onions and all of the chives including the flowers
How It’s Done
Place all the herbs, red pepper, spring onions, bread, salt, pepper into a food processor and blitz until the mixture is a ‘middle fine’ texture, scraping down the sides of the food processor so as not to miss any bits.
Place the mince beef in a bowl along with the prepared herb mixture and mix it all together so that everything is incorporated.
Cut the camembert up into cubes – See Tip Box
Decide the size of the patties to be made and divide the meat mixture into that size and place them onto plate. - See Tip Box
Divide each of the pieces into 2 and roll into balls – set them aside
Flatten one piece of the pattie into a disc, and place a piece of the cheese into the centre of the meat disc.
Do the same with a second piece and place it on top of the cheese
Spend time sealing the pattie all around the outside edge – See Tip Box
Repeat with all of the meat and cheese.
Pour the cornflour onto a plate and very gently, dab the filled pattie into the cornflour to coat.
In a shallow frying pan, heat a few glugs of vegetable oil and once hot, add the prepared patties.
Cook in batches– See Tip Box
Once one side of the patties are a dark colour and cooked, turn them over and repeat the process with them all.
Once cooked, place them on some kitchen paper to drain.
If taking on a picnic, leave to cool completely before packaging them up, if not, eat them straight away.
Dredge in cornflour helps make the patties crispy
Tip Box
Bread – 1) I used the inside of the ciabatta bread from making the picnic sandwich but any bread that’s around will do.
2) If there is no bread to hand, don’t go out to buy some especially for this recipe, just make the recipe without.
Fresh Chives – I was lucky to have a pot of fresh chives given to me and they were in flower. If you have chives like this, use the flowers in the recipe along with the green stalks. The flowers are so flavoursome and too good to waste. I use them a lot in salads during the summer and they add a bit of something different to a meal.
Camembert – 1) Again, I used this cheese because that’s what I had after making the ciabatta picnic sandwich, but if it’s too mild for you, using a blue cheese or some mature cheddar which are both fabulous in this recipe too.
2) How much camembert you put into each of the patties depends on how big you make them. For picnics, I always choose to make the patties small enough to be finished in just three of four bites.
Cornflour – The cornflour is needed to coat the patties before frying, so how much is needed again depends on how big the patties are.
Sealing the meat – Spend as much time as is needed to make sure that all the edges are closed. When the pattie is cooking, if it’s not sealed properly the cheese will squirt out.
Cooking – 1) When shallow frying the patties, don’t over crowd the pan. Overcrowding will reduce the temperature of the oil too much and will lead them steaming rather than frying.
2) Don’t be in a hurry to move the patties once they are in the hot oil. Leaving them to cook in peace, will let the outside (cornflour) get a nice dark crust on them.
Ready to pack up or et up
