:: steph chows ::: Lentil Burgers in the Poconos

Lentil Burgers in the Poconos

John and I had a fantastic time in the Poconos this Memorial Day weekend. Lots of hiking, reading, relaxing, cooking, crocheting, coffee drinking, did I mention relaxing?? While we were there I found my old bike from when I was a kid buried in the garage. This is the best bike ever, I mean come on it's a pink Schwinn with butterflies and a banana seat. While we were excavating it from the garage my mom and dad called to say hi so I went inside to talk with them. When I got back outside I came upon the best site ever...

Oh yes, at 6 feet tall he still managed to ride it with much grace!! FANTASTIC!!!

I on the other hand fit on the bike perfectly... umm if by perfect you mean it hurt my knees after a mile that is... The original plan was to bring it back to Rochester and I was going to ride it to work. I only live a mile and a half away and come on it saves gas! However even though it's a small bike it's REALLY HEAVY, living on the 3rd floor of an old house with no where to safely store it other than in my apartment I decided it was too heavy to have to lug up and down all those stairs every day. Although I am sure my coworkers would have LOVED to see me ride up to work on it :) Yeah I rode my little Razor scooter (circa 1999) to work a week ago... I don't think I'll ever hear the end of that one haha.

Anyway back to the chow part! Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella made some amazing looking lentil sweet potato burgers awhile back, that I just had to try. Her original recipe is here. I meant to follow it I really did, but a trip to the grocery store without the recipe in hand made me do things by memory... and I forgot a bunch of the ingredients she had listed.... So.. here is a version minus a few ingredients. Still very tasty!

Lentil Sweet Potato Burgers

Two 15 oz can lentils, rinsed, drained
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
About 1 lb sweet potato, cooked and coarsely chopped
About 1 cup stuffing mix or dried breadcrumbs (I used garlic bread crumbs and used less actual garlic then she said to use)
1/3 cup water
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 shallot chopped
1/2 bunch parsley
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Sunflower and sesame seeds
Hummus
Franks Red Hot Sauce

1. Combine lentils, garlic, cooked chopped sweet potato, breadcrumbs, water, parsley, and eggs in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Use your wet hands to shape each portion into an patty-you should get 8 patties in total depending on the size you make. Roll one side in sunflower and sesame seed mix. Cover and refrigerate until ready to be cooked.

2. Spray a pan with olive oil and cook patties about 3-4 minutes per side. Top with a dollop of hummus and a shake of red hot.

chow!

waiting for their turn in the frying pan

Oh and one other thing... Mom, I stole a set of mixing bowls from PA... There is another (not nearly as fun) set so I didn't leave the house there without anything to bake with... but I think they will get much more love in my kitchen then sitting there unused. Poor mixing bowls. How cute are these!!! It's a set of 4, 2 are this color 2 are white with a yellow pattern. I love them!!!