Are you ready for the new recipe? Today I prepared the lentil burgers!

I made them with red split lentils and very few other ingredients, just a carrot, a potato, and a small piece of onion.

Then (actually, before 😃) I made some buns, very simple, that turned out to be just rustic enough to pair well with these red lentil burgers with a delicate flavor.

I really love veggie burgers, I prefer them to meat ones. For years, when my children were small, I “fooled” them with chickpea and potato burgers 😁 but, and who knows why, I never tried with lentil burgers.

Now, the right opportunity to make them, and serve them to my twenty-year-old son 😃 was given to me by Light and Tasty, which this week asked us for hamburger and burger recipes. Lentils are never missing in my kitchen because, fortunately, they are one of those ingredients that have always made the whole family happy without the need for “tricks,” and since I could choose between green lentils and red split ones, I chose the latter because they cook very quickly and become creamy without having to use any tools, just a simple fork or spatula.

And here they are! My red split lentil burgers are already ready on the table! See how quickly they are prepared? 😃😃🍔🍔

〰〰〰

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Portions: 6
Cooking methods: Stove
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

7 oz red split lentils
1 carrot
1 potato
red onion (a small piece)
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cups semolina flour
2/3 cup liquid sourdough starter
7 oz water
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (to grease the dough during rising)
as needed milk (to brush the buns before baking, optional)

Tools

Burger Press
Non-Stick Griddle
Saucepan
Kitchen Spatula

Steps

To prepare the buns (leavened with licoli), you need to knead the night before and let the dough rise all night.
For these buns, the dough is very simple, made only with licoli, water, and half all-purpose flour and half semolina. With the quantities listed in the ingredient list, you get 6 buns.
For baking the buns: oven at 350°F (180°C) for 25-30 minutes.
To prepare the lentil burgers:
Rinse the lentils well in a bowl, changing the water a couple of times (no need to soak) and cook them in a saucepan with a potato, a carrot, and a small piece of red onion, proceeding as follows:
– Sauté the onion with a little oil for a couple of minutes, then add the lentils, the chopped potato and carrot, and water to cover everything. Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for 10 (maximum 15) minutes.
Once cooked, uncover and let the excess moisture evaporate on high heat, stirring with a spoon.
Adding some breadcrumbs is also useful to dry the mixture.
Turn off the heat, mash the pieces of potato and carrot with a fork.
Season with paprika. I used smoked paprika.
👉 The smoked paprika I am using now is very mild, and the smoky flavor is barely noticeable, so I recommend seasoning it to your liking. Alternatively, sweet paprika will also work.
Form the burgers using a burger press, or simply shape them into patties and flatten them with your hands.
Cook the burgers on a griddle brushed with oil until they are golden on both sides.
👉 Flip them carefully using a spatula.
Cut the buns in half and toast them on the griddle.
You can serve the lentil burgers on their own, as a simple main dish,
or you can assemble the buns just like classic hamburgers, adding your preferred vegetables (I used arugula, tomato, red onion, and some baby spinach leaves), and if desired, the classic sauces.
But this is a Light and Tasty recipe, and maybe I shouldn’t mention sauces! 🤪🤭
Anyway… yes, I confess, in my bun, after taking the photo, I added a teaspoon of mayonnaise and one of mustard! 😃
Enjoy!

No-Salt Tips

I remind you that I cook without added salt, so there is no salt in these lentil burgers, nor in the bun dough. I allowed myself some salt with the two teaspoons of mayonnaise and mustard. 😃

If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually reduce the salt, let your palate gradually get used to it without noticing the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (griddle, foil, steaming, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally make an exception. It’s good for the mood and helps you persevere.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes and salt according to your habits.

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Light and Tasty:

Here are the other burgers cooked by the Light and Tasty Team:

Carla Emilia: Minihamburgers with Pork and Potato with Rosemary
Claudia: Veggie Burger with Spinach and Cannellini Beans
Daniela: Vegetable Burger with Corn
Elena: Burger with Potatoes and Zucchini

Delicious Recipes

Red Split Lentil Burgers