Lentil Burgers

One of my daughters has been a vegetarian for a few years, and recently the other one decided to go veg as well. It has been harder for her, and she occasionally misses eating burgers. I, on the other hand do not, nor do I like to purchase the highly processed fake meat products. So to make the adjustment a bit easier for her, I came up with these homemade veggie burgers. I used lentils this time, but they are also good with black beans.


I vary the veggies used, sometimes I include chopped mushrooms, and sometimes I replace the walnuts with sunflower seeds. The seasonings can also be varied, if in the mood for Italian flavors I use basil and oregano, and sometimes I add jalapenos.

 Although I dislike using gluten since it is so highly processed, I have been unable to find a suitable replacement. I tried using flax soaked with water like you would to replace eggs in baking, but it just doesn't bind the burgers together, nor is the texture right. So for now it's  a small amount of gluten. I like the texture of these with the small bits of veggies and the rice, but if you like less texture, you can combine the ingredients in your food processor.

These were served on whole wheat buns with lettuce, tomato and avocado.

                             

Lentil Burgers

1 carrot, finely diced

2 stalks celery, finely diced

1 small red onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 c. cooked lentils

2 c. cooked brown rice

1/4 c. finely chopped walnuts

3 T. gluten

1 tsp. each- sea salt, cumin, dry mustard and sweet paprika

1/4 tsp. black pepper

5-6 T. water

Preheat oven to 350.

Water saute carrot, celery, onion and garlic till tender. Combine with remaining ingredients, stirring well to make sure gluten develops. Form into patties ( I made about 14) and place on lightly oiled baking sheet. ( I got rid of all of my non-stick cookware a few years back, now I only use cast iron and stainless steel, but that's a post for another day...)  Bake 15 min., flip patties over and bake an additional 15 min. Enjoy. These can also be frozen for a quick meal later.

This recipe has been featured at Foodista-

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