Beef Burgers with Blue Cheese and Mustard

Prepare the minced meat: if you don't have the ability to chop by hand, pass the beef through a meat grinder with a coarse grid.

Mix the ground meat with crumbled blue cheese, Dijon mustard, finely chopped red onion (or pre-caramelized in oil), salt, cayenne pepper, olive oil, whiskey, and ice water.

Knead the minced meat thoroughly and beat it against the bottom of the bowl — this is necessary for a dense structure of the cutlets.

Place the minced meat in the refrigerator for 1–3 hours.

Remove the ground meat from the refrigerator and beat it again.

Level out the ground meat in the bowl and divide it into equal portions right there — this way the cutlets will be the same size and cook evenly.

Form the burgers with wet hands, gently patting the meat. Well-beaten ground meat does not require breading.

Heat a skillet with olive oil over high heat.

Fry the burgers until browned on both sides.

Serve immediately or let rest under foil for a few minutes. Place on toasted buns or serve separately.

Prepare pickled onions: thinly slice red onion, lightly salt it, and add marinade from capers.

Let it sit for 10 minutes, then drain the marinade.

Add olive oil, pepper and capers, mix and spread over the burgers.

For the potato side dish: boil the potatoes, cool and cut crosswise into slices about 1 cm thick.

Arrange potatoes on a hot skillet with olive oil in a single layer and fry until golden brown.

Flip once and serve, seasoned with salt.

For the salad, use a mix of salad greens, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, pine nuts, and salt.