Lentil & Rice Veggie Burgers

Last night I decided to try a recipe I had been eyeing for a while on Pinterest. Of course I strayed quite a bit and made it very much my own, through laziness, necessity, and well... laziness. The original recipe is intended to be vegan, which I am not, nor was I interested in the concept of a 'flax egg'. I made 4 pretty decent sized patties, with more than enough avocado sauce for each (originally from here, adapted). Each was served on a fresh bun from International Bakery, a local vendor at the Covent Garden Market in downtown London. I also added some extra old white cheddar melted on top, spring mix lettuces, and ketchup. We roasted up some potato wedges tossed in fresh ground salt and pepper as a side. Overall it was a pretty delicious meal. In the future, I might want to step up the spiciness either through more in the patty or toppings - let me know if you have any ideas!

To make the patties, I used things we already had around. The original recommended brown lentils, but I already had red & green, so I made the sub to red. This means my lentil mix is a lot lighter in colour than I was expecting, but I don't think there is a real different in flavour. We also maintain a large jar of minced garlic (laziness, I know) that makes it a lot easier to add garlic to everything. One ingredient I have struggled to find in big box grocery stores was the garam masala spice blend. There is a PC Black Label blend that I found at Loblaws that has been doing the job, but I intend to branch out to more specialty stores in the future. The other note I would add is in regards to the BBQ sauce. This sauce is very vinegary and sweet, in the future I might want to try a smokier sauce.

To make the patties:

• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces
• 5 big basil leaves
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 3/4 cup uncooked red lentils
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
• 1 tsp peanut oil
• 3/4 cup panko

1. Cook rice and lentils separately in boiling water until done.
2. In blender or food processor combine onion, ginger, garlic and walnuts until finely chopped.
3. Add spices, basil, rice, and about half the cooked lentils. Blend until well combined, scraping down the sides regularly.
4. Transfer to a large bowl and add remaining lentils, egg, BBQ sauce, and oil. Mix evenly (with your hands!)
5. Add panko & mix. Add more panko if the mix is too wet, or another egg if it is too try.
6. Form 4 well-packed patties.
7. Grill on medium-high heat until crisp on the exterior (about 8 min per side), using cooking spray to prevent sticking.
8. Make your burger & enjoy!

To make the avocado sauce:

• 1 avocado
• 2 big basil leaves
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tsp lime juice

1. Blend together all ingredients, add salt & pepper to taste.

When making the avocado sauce, remember that avocados tend to brown as they oxidize in exposed air. I recommend waiting until the patties are ready to come off the grill before blending the avocado mix, as it only takes a couple seconds to make.

For all my blending and food processing, I use the Ninja Master Prep Pro System. We live in a tiny apartment with no balcony or access to a BBQ, so for all our grilling we use the Cuisinart Griddler. both of these products made for great gifts for our small space. We use each very often, and they are both easy to clean.