Red Lentil Burgers

Dear followers and friends,

Congratulations! You've chosen the LEAST waspy ingredient in my pantry for me to use this weekend... red lentils! It turns out, there are no wasp recipes that contain red lentils. Maybe lentil soup, but even that's cutting it close.

I debated. Red lentil cookies, red lentil hummus, red lentil cakes, RED LENTIL BURGERS!

These are really good. A bit adventurous for your average joe wasp, but it's worth it. You can impress your vegetarian friends!

Here's what you will need:

red lentils (1 cup)
2 1/4 cups breadcrumbs (I used half regular store bought in a canister crumbs and half toasted sourdough)
can of chick peas, drained
1 egg
1/2 medium onion, chopped
olive oil
spices: salt (pinch), pepper (pinch), coriander (1 tsp), cumin (1 tsp), curry powder (1 tsp) and fresh parsley (1 tsp)
a teeny bit of flour to dust the final product


First step: Rinse lentils, boil for 8 minutes, drain.

Second step: Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to pan and cook onions for 3 minutes, when transparent, add spices (except parsley) and stir briefly.

Third step: In your food processor, add: egg, 1/2 of lentils, chickpeas, and onion mixture and blend for about 30 seconds.

Fourth step: Transfer mixture to bowl. Add rest of lentils, breadcrumbs and fresh parsley. Mix with your hands, just like making meatballs. It should be the consistency of slightly dry cookie dough.


Fifth step: Shape into burger patties.


Sixth step: Lightly dust with flour. This will help the burgers brown and crisp when you cook 'em.

Seventh step: Cook! You could put these on a grill (you may want to refrigerate first so they get really firm), or cook on the stove top. Doesn't need very long to cook, a few minutes on each side. Just don't forget that there is egg in there that needs to be cooked!


Eat however you want. These could be served bare with rice or another side. I made mine into a burger with bread, tomato, lettuce and mayo.




This is what it looks like coming toward your mouth! YUM! I just wish I had an appropriately sized bun.