Burgers sounded good to me last week, so I decided to put them on our menu. But we are out of our good ground beef. So I took a look at what else we had in the pantry and did some recipe searching. I came up with a recipe for
lentil burgers from Lemons in Water. These are very simple to make. And very cheap! I had some old lentils to use up, so this was perfect. I didn't have to buy anything for our meal. These turned out pretty well. I thought they tasted really good. Justin had the same opinion he does about most "veggie" burgers I make...he'll eat it, it's ok, but he's definitely not going to request it :P They did hold up better than other bean/nut burgers I've made in the past. Not sure if it's because of the recipe or the fact that I broiled them instead of cooking them in a pan. I'll probably make them again sometime, but not all the time. But I will keep searching for a good veggie burger...that Justin really likes. I do like that these are super healthy. I'm looking forward to leftovers :) I didn't follow the recipe completely. I mostly just followed it for the ingredients, but not the quantiites or preparation method. I'll post the original recipe and my mods. I didn't get any good pictures. I had to take a picture of Jusitn's...I gave him a good bun. I just had mine on some whole wheat bread :)
1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (I used more than this...at least 2 cups, probably more)
2 eggs
1 onion, finely chopped (I grated about 1/4 cup onion into the mix)
1/2 carrot, finely chopped (I grated 1 carrot into the mix)
1 tsp garlic
1/2 cup toasted fine (whole-grain) bread crumbs
1/4 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion in a teaspoon of olive oil until translucent, add garlic and cook for additional minute (I skipped this step and just grated the veggies in to the burger mixture...no pre-cooking...just mix everything in one bowl.).
In bowl, mash half of the lentil slightly. You will want texture in the burgers and thus want to see whole lentils. Then combine all ingredients.
The burgers should be slightly moist. This will help keep in the moisture when cooking/grilling. Then mold into 5-6 patties by hand.
Broiling: On a high broil, heat on each side for 2-3 minutes. Add cheese, if desired, when flip for the second side (mine took longer to broil...maybe 5 min. per side...but I have an odd broiler, so I had my burgers a ways away so they wouldn't burn).
Saute: Over medium heat and cover, saute patties for 5 to 7 minutes or until brown. Flip and then repeat
These are just like the lentil burgers I make. I put green pepper in mine and have put in grated carrot before, as well. They are so good! I need to make up another batch to get some in the freezer. I think we have a couple left from when I made them in the fall still, but I like to have them in the freezer for lunches on the weekends.
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