Lentil Burgers....Julia style

A few weeks ago, Donny was reading a running magazine about lentils and said to me, "We should really be eating more lentils." "Sure", I said. I do make a mean lentil soup in the fall and winter months, but adding more legumes to our diet couldn't be a bad thing.

Funny enough, earlier this week, my mom tells me she saw someone on TV making lentil burgers and they looked good. So, I thought, why not try this myself? I looked into a few recipes online; some incorporated carrots and celery, others used spices like cumin and curry. Donny didn't seem too enthralled with the thought of a lentil burger, but I thought I'd give it a go anyhow.

They didn't turn out too badly, for a made up recipe! I had two colleagues try the day old leftovers, and my burger still got a thumbs-up. I can already see the possible variations in the recipe, but for those who were asking, here is my original lentil burger recipe:

Julia's Lentil Burger

1 cup of dry Red lentils (I used red because that's what I had. Feel free to use other types)

1 egg

1/4 chopped onion

Breadcrumbs

Romano Cheese

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Chopped Parsley

2 tbsps of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cook the lentils and drain. Allow to sit in pot and cool. Using a potato masher, mush up about half of the lentils. Add egg, salt and pepper, chopped onion, cayenne pepper (optional), chopped parsley, a palmful of breadcrumbs and half a palmful of Romano cheese. Combine well. Add more breadcrumbs if the mix is still too soft.

Form patties with the lentil mixture and let stand in a plate. (Should make 4-5 medium sized patties)

Heat olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

Serve hot.

They're fast, they're cheap, they're great for you and they actually taste good too! If you make them, let me know how they turn out! Next time around, I may add other vegetables (carrots, celery) to the lentil mix, and instead of cayenne, I may opt for a more Indian flavour with ground cumin. We'll see!

J