By Chef Colombe
These cumin-spiced red lentil burgers have a great crunch on the outside and are wonderful topped with caramelized onion and homemade garlic herbed yogurt. A nice comfort food.
Yield: 4 large burgers
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup red lentils, cooked
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 orange bell pepper, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 large handful arugula, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ tbsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¾ cup plain, dry bread crumbs (gluten-free)
¼ cup parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
¼ cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
1 cup plain, low-fat yogurt (preferably goat or sheep milk yogurt)
1 tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions:
- In a large saucepan, cover lentils with cold water by 2 inches, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain lentils well.
- Pre-heat the broiler to 475°F.
- In a medium skillet, heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden-about 6 minutes. Add carrots, orange pepper, celery and two-thirds of the garlic and cook until carrots begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cayenne and remove from the heat.
- Mix in cooked lentils, bread crumbs, 3 tbsp. parsley and cilantro, the eggs, sea salt and pepper. Form the mixture into burgers.
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Brush foil and both sides of the burgers with remaining ¼ cup of olive oil. Broil until the outside crisps up, about 2 minutes on each side. Once crisp, lower temperature to 350°F to cook through, about 2 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix yogurt with the lemon juice and the remaining garlic and 1 tbsp. of parsley and cilantro. Serve the burgers hot, with the yogurt sauce on the side.
