I made chorizo, manchego and avocado creme sliders for by my new favourite food blog Sous Style. Check out the post and interview here, and get the full recipe after the jump.

There’s nothing better than miniature versions of delicious junk foods. Sliders are basically just mini burgers but, as far as I’m aware, you can’t buy the teeny weeny buns anywhere in London. So I did what any mildly insane person would do and decided to make my own. It was actually a lot easier than it sounds. Well actually not that that much easier – you still need to buy yeast and strong white flour and other random ingredients that you’ve probably never even looked for in a supermarket before. But just look at those little guys below? They’re totally worth it, aren’t they? I think yes.

Photographs above courtesy of Sous Style / The very talented Rory Van Milligen (and yes, that is a picture of Method Man hanging over my kitchen sink)

Slider Buns 

Recipe courtesy of Dan Lepard

50g custard powder (or corn flour)
550ml milk
2 tsp sugar
25g unsalted butter
750g strong white flour
1 7g sachet fast-action yeast
2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten, or milk, for glazing
Seeds, for sprinkling on top

In a saucepan, whisk the custard powder with the milk, then place over the heat and cook, stirring often, until boiling. Stir in the sugar and butter, pour into a mixing bowl and leave until warm.

Add the flour, yeast and salt, mix to a firm, even dough, cover and leave for 10 minutes. Knead the dough lightly until smooth, then return the dough to the bowl and leave covered for an hour and a half.

Divide the mixture into 50g pieces for small slider buns, or into 125g pieces for medium-sized buns or even into 175g pieces for extra-large burger buns. Shape each piece into a ball and place them on a tray or trays lined with nonstick baking paper. Cover again and leave to rise for about an hour, or until they have doubled in size.

Brush the tops of the buns with egg wash and scatter over different seeds, or just dust with flour, and bake at 220C (200C fan-assisted)/425F/gas mark 7 for about 12 minutes if making small slider buns and up to 18 or 20 minutes for much larger ones. Remove from the oven the moment they’re barely golden on top, and wrap well as soon as they’re cool.

Chorizo Sliders with Manchego Cheese and Avocado Creme

Recipe adapted from Rachel Ray

Ingredients

250g Spanish chorizo, casing removed and coarsely chopped
600g ground pork or beef
1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
250g Manchego cheese, shredded
2 avocados
1 lemon, juiced
1 large clove garlic, pasted or grated
A small handful fresh coriander leaves (optional)
100ml single cream
12 slider rolls or split brioche roll

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.

Grind the chorizo in a food processor into very small crumbles. Place the ground chorizo and ground pork in a bowl and season with Worcestershire, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to the meat mixture and combine. Form 12 patties that are thinner at the center than the edges. Cook the sliders 3 minutes per side. Pile shredded cheese onto the burgers for the last minute of cook time to melt.

Meanwhile, place the avocados in a food processor. Add the lemon juice, garlic, cilantro, if desired, and cream, and process until very smooth and mayo-like in consistency.

Serve the sliders on the buns above with a dollop of the avocado creme on each. Party food win.