Herbed rissoles are a meal from my childhood, a real comfort food. Back then herbed rissoles were regularly served for dinner with creamy mashed potato and steamed greens, or as beef burger patties with salad, cheese and tomato sauce on a crunchy bread roll.

Herbed rissoles traditionally have bread soaked in milk added to the mix to fill them out and help keep them moist when cooked. They are also usually lightly dusted in plain flour before frying to help develop a golden brown crust on the outside. Now that we’re trying to eat less gluten this is a no–no so I’ve played around with the herbed rissole recipe and managed to reinvent a really tasty mix. I actually think it’s better than the original.

The secret of perfect herbed rissoles, or any burger patties, is in how vigorously you combine the ingredients. It’s important that the mixture holds together when cooked and to achieve that you need to massage the ingredients into each other so that they bind together thoroughly. The salt and milk help by acting as a kind of glue that binds the rissoles. As you work the ingredients together with your hands you’ll feel the texture of the minced beef change. Once it starts to get sticky it’s ready for the pan and won’t fall apart while cooking.

Cooked over medium heat, the resulting herbed rissoles are golden brown on the outside and dense but tender and juicy on the inside. I like to use a mix of fresh and dried herbs—the fresh herbs add lovely subtle leafy green flavours, the dried herbs pack a bit more intensity into the meat. Here’s how to make my herbed rissoles:

Ingredients

30g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
¾ cup mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1kg lean minced beef
½ cup milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 tbs olive oil

Method

Melt the butter on low–medium heat and fry the onion until it’s soft and golden, approximately 10 minutes.

For the fresh herbs I use a mix of parsley, oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary. I choose whatever is looking the best from my herb garden—sometimes it’s all five, other times not. By trying different combinations you’ll find one that best suits your tastes. My favourite is parsley, basil and oregano. The dried herb blends then supplement the fresh ones with some additional flavours and a much stronger taste. Note: if you’re not able to find good quality fresh herbs, you could use only dried herbs (approximately 1–2 tbs).

When the onion is cooked, combine it with the fresh and dried herbs, salt, pepper, milk and minced beef. Mix the meat together using your hands and combine it until the texture become sticky. Shape the mixture into patties that are about 2cm thick and set aside. Note: This raw mixture freezes well in zip lock bags if you want to separate some for cooking later.

Heat the olive oil in a large frypan over medium heat. When the frypan is hot add the herbed rissoles and cook through, turning occasionally, for approximately 8 minutes. To test they are done, cut into the centre of one and ensure the meat is no longer pink. Serve immediately.