A few months ago I read an article about famed ultra-runner Scott Jurek and his new memoir/cookbook, Eat & Run. In the article, Jurek explained how and why he became a vegan and his tricks to continuing to run at a high level while fueling up on plants alone. At this point, I was not strictly vegan, however I was only eating meat about once per week and have been a self-proclaimed veggie-crazy-psycho for years. My coach used to mock my inevitable ordering of the “veggie wrap” in every establishment that carried one while traveling for meets in college. This would have been less funny, if it were not 100% the truth. So, what was the most important takeaway from this article? The vegan burger recipe, of course!! I made a batch of these nut, lentil, mushroom burgers nearly right away and was floored by how delicious they turned out to be. The recipe as written makes about 10-12 burgers (closer to 10 for me since I like them hearty). My plan was to make a batch and freeze them in individual foil so that I could take one out and grill it on a whim, and this recipe is perfect for just that!
Recently, I have been wanting a way to cut out some of the salt in my diet, which is something 99% of all Americans could stand to do since every food product we eat that is not straight fruits or veggies contains frightening amounts of it. Think about it, the cereal, bread, tomato sauce, any packaged snacks, dips, spreads, and nearly all prepared foods have at least 10% daily value (and up to 50%!). Obviously, salt is not bad for us, in fact we need it to live, but the current trend is to stuff salt and fat into foods to make up for the fact that they have little flavor or substance on their own. As careful as I am, I know that I am not getting too much salt, however I still feel much better about what I’m putting into my tank when I have made it myself, which is why I bring up this veggie burger recipe. No salt, tons of flavor. That is just brilliant.
Because I love these burgers and it takes a bit of time and effort to prepare them, I decided to double the recipe and make about 20 patties for freezing. Once I got all of the ingredients I decided to go to the gym, which meant that by the time I got home at 5:30pm and had already ran and lifted I was not nearly as keen to stand in the kitchen for two hours as I had been earlier. Damn. Ok then, I will just prep some of the nuts and dry ingredients so that they are ready to go tomorrow…and as with everything I decide to “just start”, I continued until I realized about an hour later that I had “just kept going”…
One thing to note is that even if you are a huge meat-eater, you will probably still love these. Sometimes I think people forget that when it says “vegetarian” or “vegan” on it, this does not mean that only those who identify as such can enjoy it. So get you some!
Ingredients
-1 cup dried green lentils
-1 tsp dried parsley
-3 minced garlic cloves
-1 1/4 cup chopped onion
-3/4 cup chopped walnuts
-2 cups bread crumbs (I prefer whole wheat)
-1/2 cup ground flaxseeds
-3 cups finely chopped mushrooms
-1 1/2 cups finely chopped kale or winter greens
-2 Tbs dijon mustard
-3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
Lentil-Mushroom Burgers
1. In a medium-size pot, bring 2 1/4 cups of water to a boil, then add 1 cup dried green lentils, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 minced garlic clove, and 1/4 c up chopped onions. Simmer for 35 to 40 minutes.
2. Combine 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, 2 cups bread crumbs, and 1/2 cup ground flaxseeds in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a separate pan greased with olive oil, sauté 1 cup chopped onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, 3 cups finely chopped mushrooms, and 1 1/2 cups finely chopped kale or other winter greens for 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Remove lentils from heat, add 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard and 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and mash ingredients together.
5. In a large bowl, combine lentils, sautéed vegetables, and bread-crumb mixture. Cool in a refrigerator.
6. Using your hands, form patties and fry or grill until lightly browned and crispy on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes each side. Serve on a toasted bun or on their own.
Makes 12 four-inch burgers.
Off the Front 