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Recipe - Lentil Burger

by Erica Green

NOTE: Print this Page for easy reference when cooking.

 
Lentil burgers are generally an excellent vegetarian alternative to meat burgers.  The "so what" of this, yet another lentil burger recipe, is in the non-traditional cooking approach.  They are prepared well ahead and are cooked within minutes straight from the freezer, without the need for excessive oil.

 
Ingredients

Serves 6-8 large

• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 heaped Tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp. tomato sauce
• 1/4 Tsp. dried chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1/2 Tsp. vegetable stock powder
• 1/4 Tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh coriander or parsley
• 1 egg
• 1 cup traditional rolled oats
• 2 x 400g can brown lentils, drained
• 1 carrot peeled and grated
• 3 Tbsp. gluten flour

Method

• In a large food process, place the onions, peanut butter, tomato sauce, chili powder, curry powder, coriander, stock powder, salt and egg.  Blitz until the onions a very finely chopped.
• Add 1/2 the lentils and blitz until they are well incorporated.
• Pour into a bowl with the rolled oats.  Stir through and allow the oats to soak up the moisture for a few minutes.
• Stir through the rest of brown lentils and the remaining ingredients.
• Form into patties.  For large burger buns, place 1/2 cup of the mixture in a burger/patty press and press into shape.
• Lay the burgers out onto a flat tray and freeze.  Once frozen, bag them up and label for future use.
• Cook the burgers straight from the freezer.  Place them on the bottom plate of an unheated sandwich press. Adjust the top plate fixed height settings so that the top plate only just sits at the frozen burger height.  This way, as the burger defrosts, the sandwich press will not squash the burger too flat. Turn on the sandwich press and cook, without turning, until the burgers are nicely browned.
• Remove with a spatula and place the burger on a bun with your favourite burger fillings.

 
About the Recipe

• This recipe is suitable for vegetarians but as it contains eggs, to help bind the ingredients, it is not suitable for vegans.
• This non-traditional cooking method has several advantages.  Cooking these burgers on a sandwich press is much quicker than the traditional pan-frying process, as both sides of the burger are cooked at once.  I recommend that you use the adjustable height control so that you don't crush the burger too much.  Because you don't need to handle the burger so much, to turn it over, the burger seems to hold together better.  Cooking the burgers from frozen also helps to maintain the burger form.  Because most sandwich press plates are non-stick coated, you don't need to add extra oil to cook them.  Tip - Cleaning is much easier if you wipe the sandwich press down with a damp cloth while the machine is still hot.  
• A burger/patty press, is a kitchen utensil designed to form meat patties that are consistently shaped.  It consists of a round container, generally the size of a burger bun, with a plunger that you use to press the meat into a patty shape. 
• If you place sheets of baking paper beneath and on top of the burgers, in the burger press, it will be easier to use the burger press and it will be easier to separate the burgers once frozen.
• Don't worry if you don't have a burger press, just form patties with your hand, doing your best to make them the same thickness from the centre to the edges.
• Massel make a range of vegan stocks and stock powders. You can also get low salt varieties if that is an issue for you. They are a staple item in my pantry and is a quick way to add flavour to a recipe.
• I have used traditional oats rather than quick oats for this recipe.  Quick Oats are steamed longer and rolled thinner than traditional oats and thus they cook quicker.
• Gluten flour is what is left over when you remove the starch and bran from wheat.  It is almost pure protein.  Gluten flour is not generally available in the major supermarkets but can be found in health food stores.
• Double up the recipe and stock up the freezer.

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