Happy Hippie Lentil Burgers

For some reason, the ingredients in these delectable veggie burgers just reminds me of the quintessential hippie vegetarian. Loaded with ingredients like flax, lentils, walnuts, TVP and avocado these tasty burgers would make any hippie proud!  While these delightful burgers may seem a little intimidating since they’re composed of several separate components, most of the ingredients only require hands off cooking, which leaves you free to move onto the next component while another one is cooking. In the end, all of the separate components are simply stirred together in one bowl and combined into delectable burgers.  After a quick cooking, you’re ready to savor a flavor packed  lentil vegetable patty topped with a creamy avocado mash and you will see that this dish is worth the time. Pure veggie burger perfection!

Happy Hippie Lentil Burgers
Gluten Free
Serves 6
Click Here for Printable Recipe



Ingredients:
Lentils--
1/4 cup brown lentils
2 tablespoons brown rice
3/4 cup vegetable broth (check for gluten)
1/2 cup water
Salt
Pulsed Grains:
1/2 cup gluten free puffed rice cereal
1 tablespoon gluten free oats (I prefer GF Harvest brand)
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (such as the kind by Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Salt & Pepper
Roasted Vegetables--
1/4 of a red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 of a zucchini, roughly chopped
1 small carrot, roughly chopped
5-6 cremini mushrooms, halved
1 tablespoon walnuts, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
TVP--
1/4 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (I used Bob's Red Mill TVP)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon double concentrated tomato paste (like the kind by Amore)
2 teaspoons gluten free soy sauce
Salt & Pepper
Herbs & Flavorings--
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt & Pepper
Finishing Ingredients--
12 Slices Light Gluten Free Sandwich Bread (I always use the kind by Ener-G )
Creamy Avocado Mash--
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (6 tablespoons) nonfat Greek yogurt
6 tablespoons avocado
1.5 teaspoons lime juice
1-2 teaspoons jalapeno, seeded & finely diced (add more or less depending on heat preference)
Salt
2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1. Start by preparing the Lentils . Add lentils and rice to a medium saucepan. Stir in broth, water, and salt then bring mixture to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and simmer until rice is tender and lentils are very tender (you want the lentils to be almost falling apart and mashable), 45-50 minutes.



2. While the lentils are cooking, add Pulsed Grains ingredients to a small food processor. Pulse until ingredients are ground to a breadcrumb like consistency. Carefully pour crumbs into a medium mixing bowl and set bowl aside. (No need to wash food processor yet--you’ll need it for the next step).


                   

3. Next, begin the Roasted Vegetables--preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with a layer of nonstick spray.

6. Add vegetables to food processor and pulse until finely chopped.



7. Scoop vegetables onto prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Place baking sheet in oven and roast 12-15 minutes, or until vegetables are golden and beginning to toast around the edges.



8. As the vegetables are roasting, prepare the TVP mixture--add TVP, salt and pepper to a small bowl. Stir in tomato paste and soy sauce, then cover mixture in boiling water. Let sit for 4-5 minutes or until water is absorbed and TVP is tender.



9.  Once the lentils, vegetables, and TVP are finished cooking, you can begin combining everything! Add lentil mixture, vegetables, and TVP to bowl with pulsed grains. Add Herbs & Flavorings  to bowl, then stir until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.



10. Line a tupperware container large enough to hold 6 patties (I used two smaller containers), with wax paper. Use a (1/3) measuring cup to scoop out 6 patties from burger mixture and place in tupperware containers. Don’t worry about shaping or flattening the patties yet, you can do that right before cooking. Cover containers and refrigerate burgers for 3-4 hours.
(Note: If you prefer, you can make the patties a few days ahead of time, and simply refrigerate until ready to serve. On the day you want to serve the burgers, just remove from fridge and cook as instructed. This also means you can enjoy the burgers on different days. I chose to just cook two burgers the first night (as pictured) and then cooked the remaining burgers 2 days later.)




11. After burgers are chilled, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a oven safe skillet (large enough to hold the desired number of burgers) with nonstick spray and heat to medium high.

12. Use your hands to flatten and shape patties then add to skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned on the bottom. Use a spatula to carefully flip burgers, then continue to cook 2-3 minutes more or until browned on both sides.



13. Transfer skillet to oven and cook burger, 8-10 minutes or until heated through.



14. While the burgers are cooking in the oven, prepare the Creamy Avocado Mash--add all ingredients to a small bowl, then use a fork to mash ingredients until combined.



15. To assemble burgers, toast gluten free bread, then place a burger patty on half of the bread slices. Top each burger with a dollop of avocado mash, then close burgers with remaining bread. Enjoy!




Nutrition Information--approximately 80 calories per burger patty (when formed into 6 patties)
                                   approximately 205 calories per burger (including 2 slices light sandwich bread, and                                        1/6th of avocado spread)