as stated and overly stated on this blog, i love meat.
i could not be a vegetarian.
i do however try to abstain, courteously of course, from meat a few times a week.
unfortunately, i'm pretty boring about it most days, like i have eggs for dinner. big deal right?
or a yogurt parfait for lunch, woohooo. so bold!
and then i wonder why i want to face plant into a box of chips ahoy every night.
anyway, it seems my vegetarian options weren't satisfying me, that is until this lentil-mushroom burger.
do you know about lentils?
see i thought i knew about lentils. i thought i hated them.
i thought they were grainy and beany and just gross.
the shock of all shocks is that i was dead wrong.
lentils have a wonderful rich and satisfying taste.
besides that they're a natural source of protein and fiber.
trader joes also sells them fully cooked in this super-duper convenient 2 serving bag.
could it really be any easier?
lentils also adapt incredibly well to your ingredients.
and of course the sidekick to the lentils:
mushrooms and mint!
mint is the key flavor enhancer to this burgers.
don't skip on the mint or your burgers will be bupkis.
and come visit my parents in bflo, they make the best mojitos with refreshing mint right from their garden!
but back to the mint, can't you practically smell it just looking at this image?
i almost started scratching the screen.
you know, like scratch and sniff stickers?
a side note: i loved those stickers, had tons of them in my sticker book, i would scratch them practically raw even though most of the smells were terrible, like mustard? who wants to just smell a mustard sticker?
the berry good sns sticker was hands down the best.
image: liketotally80s
the googlie-eyed stickers were probably a bit better....
why don't kids have sticker books any more?
i wish i had saved mine, although it likely would have disintegrated if i haden't preserved it with permeldahide.
because i am so old.
sigh.
Recipe: Lentil-Mushroom Burgers (adapted from Martha and Sabrina)
Ingredients:
-8 oz lentils
-4oz chopped mushrooms (I used baby portabellas)
-1/2 shallot
-1 egg white
-1/2 teaspoon garlic
-4 green onion sprigs
-20 mint leaves
-mini whole wheat buns
-1/2 cup greek yogurt
-1/4 cucumber, chopped
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-liberal salt and pepper
Method:
Burgers--
-warm a medium skillet to medium heat, add cooking spray and 2 teaspoons olive oil, add shallot and garlic. cook 2-3 minutes, add mushrooms to pan, cook another 5 minutes, remove from heat.
-in food processor, blend lentils with 1 mini ww bun, green onions, egg white, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons olive oil and 10 mint leaves.
-add mushroom mix to lentils and blend till all ingredients are fully incorporated.
-form into six mini patties (think sliders)
-heat skillet to medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook burgers. should be about 5-6 minutes per side. you want the outside crispy but the inside still a little soft, after all these have NO meat so they won't be undercooked.
Sauce--
-in food processor combine greek yogurt, cucumber, 10 mint leaves, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Prepare:
-place burger on sliced roll, top generously with sauce, add sauce to plate to dip. eat sauce plain with a spoon. proclaim yourself genius for said sauce. sauce is good.
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