October 29, 2010
This here is the tastiest lentil burger I’ve ever eaten. I made them a few times over the summer and perfected them for our housewarming potluck back in August. Since then, some friends have been bugging me for the recipe so I decided to post it here. They’re pretty easy to make, though a bit messy. They’re also completely vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, and can be made vegan if you want. Most importantly, they’re really delicious and hardy. One meat-eating friend at the party actually thought they were beef burgers and couldn’t believe it when I said they were made from lentils. Veggie burgers are notoriously hard to make at home and they never stick together. The ones you buy at the store usually have some kind of wheat protein or weird chemicals to preserve them and make them congeal properly. I tend to get a sore stomach after eating them. So when these ones worked out, I got really excited and started thinking about going into business with them (seriously). I dreamed I would make them in bulk, sell them frozen online, fresh to local restaurants, and do lunchtime bicycle delivery to labourers and office folk. I went as far as deciding on the name: Buntley’s Burgers, which I thought had a nice olde timey, homecooking feel, and the packaging: wrapped in butcher’s paper stamped with the logo and tied in string. Well, that never happened. So instead, I’m posting the recipe on my blog for you to make yourself. If you do make them, I’d love to hear how they turn out. Send me a photo! Buntley’s Burgers Ingredients: Brown rice Lentils (dried, not canned, I use the little green ones, but any kind is good) Zucchini Carrots Walnuts (obv omit if you’re deathly allergic) Bragg’s or tamari or soy sauce Brown rice cereal (like oatmeal made with ground up rice, check the bulk or health food section of the grocery store) 1 egg Spices (cumin, coriander, fresh parsley, salt, pepper) Plus: Burger buns Toppings (tomato, lettuce, avocado, anything you want, they’re pretty great just with ketchup and mustard) Instructions: Ok, so the first thing is to cook the brown rice. It’s good if you had rice for dinner the night before and you wanna use it up. If not, just cook some rice. At the same time, in a different pot, cook a bit of rice cereal. It’s just to thicken up the burgers if they’re too thin at the end. If you have a lot of cooked rice and don’t want to buy rice cereal, just add a lot of water to a bit of the cooked rice and cook it again until it turns into porridge. For the lentils, boil them in some water with salt, Bragg’s, and spices like cumin and coriander until they’re mushy. If you’re really lazy, you could use a can of lentils instead, but then they don’t get as much seasoning time while they cook. Anyway, I’m not judging. Grate the zucchini and carrot with the small (fine) grating side. Get a really big bowl and combine the cooked brown rice and lentils with the raw zucchini and carrots. Break the walnuts into manageable pieces, chop up the parsley (use a lot), and add these all into the mix. Time to roll up your sleeves and get in there. Mush everything up (especially the rice and lentils) and get a feel for it. Don’t be shy. Add some Bragg’s if it’s too dry. Add some rice cereal or more cooked rice if it’s too watery. You’ll probably need some salt and pepper to bring up the flavour. Taste it and season some more. I threw in a bit of nutritional yeast. Add whatever spices you want really. Once you’re done seasoning, if you’re doing the non-vegan version, crack in the egg and mix it around. If you’re flying vegan air, proceed to the next step. Heat up a frying pan with oil, form the batter into patties, and start frying! Give them a few minutes on each side until they’re getting a bit crispy. Everything except the egg is already cooked, so they don’t need long. Let the finished ones cool on a piece of paper towel and keep frying until you’re out of batter. Toast a bun, cut up some toppings, and dress your burger to perfection. Mmm. You can store extra batter in the fridge for a day or two, but after that, chuck it out. It’s better to cook up all the batter and refrigerate the finished burgers to heat up when you want them. You can also try freezing them (cooked) between wax paper for another time.

This here is the tastiest lentil burger I’ve ever eaten. I made them a few times over the summer and perfected them for our housewarming potluck back in August. Since then, some friends have been bugging me for the recipe so I decided to post it here.

They’re pretty easy to make, though a bit messy. They’re also completely vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, and can be made vegan if you want. Most importantly, they’re really delicious and hardy. One meat-eating friend at the party actually thought they were beef burgers and couldn’t believe it when I said they were made from lentils.

Veggie burgers are notoriously hard to make at home and they never stick together. The ones you buy at the store usually have some kind of wheat protein or weird chemicals to preserve them and make them congeal properly. I tend to get a sore stomach after eating them. So when these ones worked out, I got really excited and started thinking about going into business with them (seriously). I dreamed I would make them in bulk, sell them frozen online, fresh to local restaurants, and do lunchtime bicycle delivery to labourers and office folk. I went as far as deciding on the name: Buntley’s Burgers, which I thought had a nice olde timey, homecooking feel, and the packaging: wrapped in butcher’s paper stamped with the logo and tied in string.

Well, that never happened. So instead, I’m posting the recipe on my blog for you to make yourself. If you do make them, I’d love to hear how they turn out. Send me a photo!

Buntley’s Burgers

Ingredients:

  • Brown rice
  • Lentils (dried, not canned, I use the little green ones, but any kind is good)
  • Zucchini
  • Carrots
  • Walnuts (obv omit if you’re deathly allergic)
  • Bragg’s or tamari or soy sauce
  • Brown rice cereal (like oatmeal made with ground up rice, check the bulk or health food section of the grocery store)
  • 1 egg
  • Spices (cumin, coriander, fresh parsley, salt, pepper)

Plus:

  • Burger buns
  • Toppings (tomato, lettuce, avocado, anything you want, they’re pretty great just with ketchup and mustard)

Instructions:

Ok, so the first thing is to cook the brown rice. It’s good if you had rice for dinner the night before and you wanna use it up. If not, just cook some rice. At the same time, in a different pot, cook a bit of rice cereal. It’s just to thicken up the burgers if they’re too thin at the end. If you have a lot of cooked rice and don’t want to buy rice cereal, just add a lot of water to a bit of the cooked rice and cook it again until it turns into porridge.

For the lentils, boil them in some water with salt, Bragg’s, and spices like cumin and coriander until they’re mushy. If you’re really lazy, you could use a can of lentils instead, but then they don’t get as much seasoning time while they cook. Anyway, I’m not judging.

Grate the zucchini and carrot with the small (fine) grating side. Get a really big bowl and combine the cooked brown rice and lentils with the raw zucchini and carrots. Break the walnuts into manageable pieces, chop up the parsley (use a lot), and add these all into the mix.

Time to roll up your sleeves and get in there. Mush everything up (especially the rice and lentils) and get a feel for it. Don’t be shy. Add some Bragg’s if it’s too dry. Add some rice cereal or more cooked rice if it’s too watery. You’ll probably need some salt and pepper to bring up the flavour. Taste it and season some more. I threw in a bit of nutritional yeast. Add whatever spices you want really. Once you’re done seasoning, if you’re doing the non-vegan version, crack in the egg and mix it around. If you’re flying vegan air, proceed to the next step.

Heat up a frying pan with oil, form the batter into patties, and start frying! Give them a few minutes on each side until they’re getting a bit crispy. Everything except the egg is already cooked, so they don’t need long.

Let the finished ones cool on a piece of paper towel and keep frying until you’re out of batter. Toast a bun, cut up some toppings, and dress your burger to perfection. Mmm.

You can store extra batter in the fridge for a day or two, but after that, chuck it out. It’s better to cook up all the batter and refrigerate the finished burgers to heat up when you want them. You can also try freezing them (cooked) between wax paper for another time.

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