"Kitchen Sink" Gluten-Free, Vegetarian Lentil Burgers

Well, hello there, Mr. Sunshine!

I was so happy to see this guy this morning after a long evening of thunderstorms and loads of rain. I love the moments after a good hard rain. All of the plants look quenched and ready to shine, as if their leaves and petals are saying, "Ahhh! Much better now!"


Just gaw-geous, right?!

As I mentioned I am in Pittsburgh for the rest of the week, so when it came to dinner last night it was another family affair. My mom had a box of Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils and that one ingredient helped us to decide that lentil burgers should be on the menu!

We started these early in the day, so I had a bit of help from Dan in creating the mixture before he hit the road for Dayton. It was nice to have these prepared when dinner time came around because putting them in the pan was a cinch.

Without a recipe in sight, we started out with lentils and started adding ingredients that we thought sounded good. Soon, the list included carrots, celery, gluten-free bread crumbs, rice and more.

Dan dubbed these, "Everything including the kitchen sink" burgers, and he hit the nail on the head! The saying "the more the merrier" couldn't have applied more in this ingredients love fest because the union was a tasty one!

Here are the ingredients -- feel free to make a few adjustments and get crazy with it!


Kitchen Sink Lentil Burgers (Makes 8 patties)

(Print me!)

Ingredients

  • 500 grams (about 2-1/2 cups) steamed lentils (canned lentils work well, too)

  • 1 carrot, chopped

  • 1 stalk celery, chopped

  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced

  • 1/4 large sweet onion (or 1/2 small onion), chopped

  • 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

  • 1/2 cup cooked rice (try wild or brown rice)

  • 1/2 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 can cannellini beans

  • 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depends on how much spice you like!)

  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

  • salt, one pinch

  • ground black pepper, as desired

  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil

NOTES: I used fresh gluten-free breadcrumbs from Sinfully Gluten-Free, a local gluten-free bakery that also sells its products at Dorothy Lane Market. You may want to try Glutino's Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs, or make them from scratch by pulsating fresh, gluten-free bread in a food processor. I also used wild rice, but you can feel free to use whatever rice you have on hand!

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine lentils, carrots, celery, garlic, onion, parsley, basil, rice, breadcrumbs and one egg by mixing with a spoon. Continue mixing until ingredients are well combined and mixture begins to stick together.

2. In a food processor, puree remaining egg and can of cannellini beans. Add puree to the lentil mixture by stirring to combine.

3. Add spices (cayenne - ground black pepper) to lentil mixture. Again, stir until all ingredients are well combined.

4. Using your hands, make patties by taking a palm-sized handful of the mixture and working into a patty. Place aside on a plate and repeat seven more times to form remaining patties. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add 4 patties, cooking thoroughly (about 5 - 6 minutes each side). Patties will have a golden brown color. Repeat the process for the remaining 4 patties, heating the remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil in the pan before cooking the patties.

5. Serve on lettuce leaves, or gluten-free bread or hamburger bun.

Let me just say this: Kitchen sinks are HEAVENLY! :) These burgers were oh-so-yummy. My mom had hers on romaine lettuce leaves (as seen above), but next time I think I would opt to serve it with Boston Bibb lettuce because I feel like it folds more easily (think lentil burger "tacos"). I opted to smush mine between two slices of toasted Rudi's Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread and it was faa-bulous!


Note: This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian. (If you have allergies or food sensitivities, always check specific manufacturer's products for allergens and/or cross-contamination issues.)

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As I alluded to earlier in the post, the weather in Pittsburgh has been completely PMS-ing. We've been between tons of rain, sunny days, strong winds and humidity galore. I am just happy to see spring showing its roots, but it has certainly made running interesting.

With less than three weeks until I run the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay (I am running the 6.2-mile leg) I don't feel like I can afford to have crappy runs, but yesterday's temps were showing me no mercy. I headed out for a 4-mile run with my sister around 11 a.m., thinking it would be an easy one. We should have known better than to challenge the quickly rising temperature, but we did it anyway -- and paid for it.

We got it done, but not without lots of "What were we thinking?!" moments.

Today's run was better, but still hot. I think my body just needs some time to adapt to the warmer weather. Plus, the humidity is always a killer for me -- I just can't take it!


Tell me, tell me, please: What has been your most successful last-minute, throw-it-together dinner decision?

Find more recipes, gluten-free information and healthy living tips at The G-Spot.