I made this for a potluck last week and immediately friends and family were asking for the recipe, which has options to make it vegan and gluten free. Not a single one was left uneaten!
Vegetarians and carnivores alike will DEVOUR this amazingly flavorful and filling burger made with red lentils, lots of paprika, and fried in healthy extra virgin olive oil. It is perfect for summertime!
Related: Frying in Olive Oil: Healthy or Harmful?
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 large egg (or use 4tbsp psyillium husks to make it vegan)
- 4 Tbsps nutritional yeast flakes (optional, but recommended)
- 1 bell pepper (I used red ), chopped
- about ½ cup rice flour, or flour of choice
- 3-5 cloves garlic, depending on taste
- 1 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
- olive oil, for frying
Instructions
- Add lentils in a pot and cover them with water. From the moment they start boiling, let them boil for about 15 minutes and then remove from heat.
- Strain the lentils very well and put them in a large bowl. Start mashing them using a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients, except oil. Don't forget the S&P!
- Mix with your hands or a fork. It has to be sticky and easy to shape. If it’s not it means that you didn’t strain the lentils very good and the composition is too wet. No problem, just add more flour until it has a dough-like consistency.
- Heat olive oil in pan on medium to medium-high heat. Form dough into burger sized patties and fry 4-5 minutes on each side or until crispy and browned.
- Optional: On last minute of cooking, melt cheese to burger. We used local Haystack Mountain Vaquero Jack.
Once the burgers are ready, toast up some buns if desired. Assemble the burgers with lettuce, tomato, sauteed portobello mushrooms, avocado, and a dash of hot sauce.
Be prepared for lots of compliments ;)
If you don't make all the burgers at once, refrigerate for 3-4 days. You can make them snack sized, or try them topped with fried eggs for breakfast! Mmm...
Adapted from http://gourmandelle.com/spicy-vegan-lentil-cakes/