Chorizo burgers with manchego cheese sauce

These chorizo burgers with manchego cheese sauce by delicious. editorial director Laura Rowe are just the thing if you fancy a change from classic barbecue burgers. “If you’re coming round mine this summer, expect this Spanish-inspired spin on the traditional,” says Laura.

• Flavour and fat hack: “I’ve experimented with bits in burgers – onions, breadcrumbs, even gherkins – but there’s little that adds to the burger experience. Because a) we’re all here to taste the beef, folks! b) bits can affect how the patty holds together, especially on the barbecue. The exception, though, is more meat. And for a shortcut to flavour and juiciness, the trick I advise is cooking chorizo. This Spanish sausage does all the hard work for you – it’s ready seasoned with salt, garlic and smoked paprika, and the pork fat acts as a natural baster for your beef.”
• Swap burger sauce for romesco: “I’m a big advocate for sauce. In my twist you get the sharpness, sweetness, saltiness and creaminess of a traditional burger sauce in buckets with a romesco made with pickled and raw walnuts (food writer Nikki Segnit notes their affinity with beef in her first Flavour Thesaurus book). Roasted red peppers from a jar are a good storecupboard standby but if you have the time, barbecuing whole fresh peppers is worth it for extra sweetness and char (grill until blackened all over, cover in a bowl until cool, then peel and deseed).
• Delicious cheesy sauce: “No plastic cheese required – instead you make another sauce from Spanish manchego, fresh cream cheese and our chief melter, mozzarella, all of which drape beautifully over our finished patties (and/or act as an indulgent dip for crisps, too).

Try our best-ever classic cheeseburger for comparison…