Lentil Walnut Burgers
These savory burgers will surprise you with little bites of sweetness, courtesy of fresh apple. Plus, they hold together quite well, without being too starchy or heavy. Makes 9-11 patties.
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp water for saute, see note for skipping saute and cooking onions/garlic with lentils
- 1 1/2 cups onion chopped
- 3 medium-large cloves garlic
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper generous is good
- 2 cups cooked green lentils will need about ¾ cup dry lentils, see note
- 1/2 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce omit for wheat/gluten-free version or use a gluten-free vegan worcestershire
- 1 ½ tbsp mild miso I use Genmai brown rice Miso
- 1 tsp dried thyme or 2-3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 3/4 tsp dried sage
- ½ tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- ¾ - 1 cup ground steel cut oats or ¾ - 1 cup rolled or quick oats; see note for firmer burgers (use gf-certified oats for gluten-free option)
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts or can toast to enhance the flavor
- 1 cup apple firm, crisp apple like Gala, Fuji, or Yellow Delicious, peeled and diced (in small cubes) – *toss with a squeeze of lemon juice (see note)
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the water. Add the add onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and let cook 7-8 minutes until onions have softened. Meanwhile, in a food processor, add the cooked lentils, worcestershire sauce, miso, thyme, sage, basil and salt, and blend through. When onion mixture is ready, add this to the food processor and puree through again, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add the oats and walnuts, and pulse through a few times to break up the walnut (but not fully pulverize, leave in a rough chop). Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add apple and mix through until well combined. At this point, you can refrigerate mixture until ready to fry in patties (refrigerating for at least 1⁄2 hour will make it firmer and easier to form). Take scoops of the mixture and form into patties with your hands. In a non-skillet over medium-high heat (use a wipe of oil unless you have a very good non-stick pan), add the patties, flatten gently on the pan, and fry for 6-9 minutes on each side, until golden and a crust has developed; flip them over only once or twice (the second side will cook quicker than the first).
Notes
Serving Suggestions: Instead of whole-wheat burger buns, try serving in pitas, or a folded whole-grain tortilla with your favorite fixings! Try a dollop of “Raw-nch Dressing”, p<>, or a large romaine salad tossed with “Classic Caesar Dressing”, p.<>.
Saute Note: Some days you might want to skip the step of sautéing the onions and garlic. If you’re having one of those days, simply toss the onion and garlic in with the dry lentils and water (see lentil cooking note below), and cook through while the lentils simmer. You can omit the oil and salt, and simply add a titch more salt with the puree (lightly round the ¼ tsp salt in the pureed mix).
Leftovers? Use leftover patties in sandwiches, much like a pate, or crumble and add to other fixings in a pita or wrap sandwich.
Oats Note: For ground steel cut oats, simply add steel cut oats to a food processor or blender and process until very fine, like a coarse flour. If you don’t have steel cut oats, you can substitute quick oats for the ground steel cut oats. These burgers form patties that will hold together, but are still fairly soft. For firmer burgers, add another ¼ - 1/3 cup of oats.
Lentils Note: If cooking lentils yourself, use about 3/4 cup dry lentils to about 1 ¾ - 2 cups water. Add a bay leaf, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer covered for about 35 minutes or longer, until lentils are tender and the water is mostly absorbed. If the lentils are tender but there is extra water, either drain off the water, or remove cover and simmer until water has evaporated). Of course, feel free to use canned or packaged cooked lentils in a pinch!
Apple Note: You can also grate the apple for the mixture if you prefer. Use a large-holed grater, and then toss the grated apple with the lemon juice as per directions. Also, if refrigerating the mix for more than ½ - 1 hour, reserve the apples. This mixture can be refrigerated up to a day or two in advance, however, the apples will lose their texture and taste if they sit in the mixture that long. So, if preparing burgers in advance, you can prepare the entire mixture and refrigerate, and then stir in the chopped apple later, before getting ready to pan-fry the patties.