Nut Burgers

This fine fare makes the ideal accompanyment to some roasted root veg, goat’s cheese and nutmeg mash genourously lashed with onion and mushroom gravy with a hint of cider. One good reason to welcome autumn!

Ingredients

• 100g mixed nuts (brazil, walnut, hazelnut, etc)
• 75g red lentils
• 1 stale heel of wholemeal bread
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 small/medium egg
• 4 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• a large pinch of salt

Method

Rinse the red lentils well under running water in a small pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil and simmer vigourously for 5 mins. Meanwhile, chop the onion and fry gently in a frying pan large enough to hold the lentils as well as the onion. Once the onion starts to brown and the lentils have been simmered, spoon the lentils into the frying pan and reduce the heat. Add the spices, stir and let cook for 2-3 minutes.

In a food processor, whizz the mixed nuts just enough to break them down but leave some texture and then do the heel of bread into coarse crumbs. Combine the lentils, nuts and breadcrumbs with the parsley, salt and egg in a bowl and stir together.

To cook, split the mixture in two and fashion into patties. Coat with a tablespoon of oil (groundnut or rapeseed work well) each and place on a baking tray in the oven at 180° C for around 30 minutes.

Spicy Lentil Burgers

This recipe is inspired by a veggie burger I had at an airport ~25 years ago (and much thinking about it since) coupled with something of a eureka moment I had while making dhansak a few weeks ago.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 chilli
• 1 carrot
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (or ½ tsp fenugreek powder)
• 75g puy lentil
• 75g green lentil
• 25g red lentil
• 75g stale breadcrumbs
• 2 large pinches of salt
• 1 large pinch black pepper

Method

Slice the onions and the chilli and crush the garlic. Heat a pan with the oil over a medium high heat and fry the onion, chilli and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add the lentils and fry for another 3-4 minutes then add the salt, pepper and spices. Add a splashes of water as needed if the mixture is too dry (abut 125ml of water in total over the entire cooking time). Grate the carrot and stir into the mix. After about 5 minutes turn off the heat and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Stir in the breadcrumbs.

The burger mix should be dry and quite sticky when it has cooled. The burger should bind well and be either shallow fried for 3-4 minutes each side or baked in the oven for 15-20 minutes with a dusting of polenta.

Chickpea Patties

Nirvana, for many vegetarians, is the humble burger. Over the past few months many experiments have been conducted to find the right blend of texture and taste.

Ingredients

• 2 onions (finely chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• 1 green finger chilli (deseeded and finely chopped)
• ½ red pepper (deseeded and finely chopped)
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp pimento powder
• ½ tsp salt
• A large pinch of black pepper
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can of chickpeas (or 300g of presoaked)
• 150g of stale breadcrumbs
• 50g of fresh parsely (chopped)
• 1 egg

Method

Combine all the ingredients except the egg in the order listed into a large mixing bowl and stir well. Transfer to a food processor and crack the egg over the mixture. Process for no more than 10 seconds on lowest speed to retain texture. Leave to stand for at least half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and divide the mixture to make 4 patties. Coat with flour or polenta, if desired, and lightly coat with olive oil before placing on a preheated baking tray in the oven for 20 minutes.

Half way through cooking, remove the tray from the oven and spoon the excess oil over the patties to help the crust develop.