Veg*n Cooking and Other Random Musings: Southwestern Lentil Burgers with Spicy Shoe String Yams and Roasted Asparagus

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Southwestern Lentil Burgers with Spicy Shoe String Yams and Roasted Asparagus

This meal was really good. I modified the recipe from one of Chandelle's that can be found here. I basically changed the spice combination to suit our tastes and changed up the ingredients based on what we had on hand.
'Burgers' are a great summer meal as you can make up a large batch, freeze what you don't use, and have yummy dinners that require the stove to be on for just long enough to cook the burgers. I don't know about anyone else, but I like to avoid using appliances that heat the place up when it's hot!















Note: Don't get the 'super-ultra-mega' big burger buns like we did. I had to make the patties HUGE, these were so big we didn't need the sides! In my own defense, these buns had the fewest preservatives in them.

Southwestern Lentil Burgers with Spicy Shoe String Yams

Lentil Burgers:
1/2 cup green lentils (raw)
2 cups veggie broth
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup Matzoh meal
1/4 cup long grain brown rice, cooked
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
juice of half a lime
2 tbsp Bragg's
chili powder
cumin
salt

The Rest of the Stuff:
whole wheat (or whole grain) burger buns
leaf lettuce
sliced cucumber
sliced avocado
sliced red onion
chipotle vegan mayo (I just mixed some chipotle chili powder, cumin and salt in some Veganaise)

Bring broth to a boil and add the lentils. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.

Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers, garlic and onion and cook for 10-15 minutes or until soft, drain any excess liquid.

Combine all other ingredients with the lentils.

When cooled, form into patties.

Heat just a bit of coconut oil in a small skillet.

Fry for 5 or so minutes on each side until golden brown.

Spicy Shoe String Yams:
1 large yam, cut into very thin strips
1 tbsp coconut oil
chipotle chili powder
cumin
cayenne pepper
ground coriander
dash cinnamon
dash cocoa
Mexican oregano
salt
Preheat oven to 450.

Toss yams with oil and seasonings. Layer in a baking dish.

Roast, uncovered for 30 minutes or until soft.

We also made some roasted asparagus to go with the meal.

Aside from the size of the burger, this was an excellent meal!

'Til next time.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have never made a burger! How terrible is that? These look sooo appetizing!

Anonymous said...

This looks darn good! And I'm with you, it's always great when you can freeze a little for later, especially now that it's hot outside! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Can never have enough burger recipes!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Definitely a perfect summer meal - those lentil burgers sound FABULOUS!!!

ChickPea said...

Shoestring yams?! I think I'm in love.

Rural Vegan said...

Ooo, I love the shoestring yams! I've been eating a ton of burgers lately too. They're the perfect summer food, imo. (Especially when they can be grilled outside and I don't have to heat the house up!)

Bianca said...

Those look great! I love homemade veggie burgers. And that looks like a good way to use up the extra Matzoh meal in my cabinet. I bought it to make VwaV Matzoh Ball Soup, but don't know what else to use it for...

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Those yams look really good… the burgers too—it looks like the quintessential comfort-food meal. Now I just need to buy me some yams…

Anonymous said...

Those burgers sound soooo good! I love lentils, so I will definitely be making them soon!

Thanks!

Courtney

J said...

Romina - This was actually my first attempt at making a homemade 'burger'. It's really easy and it's really no more work to make up a few extra to freeze. Thanks!

Shellyfish - Thank you! I love to freeze for later dates. I went on a salsa making crusade a month or so ago and am still enjoying the fruits of my hard work.

You are right, I have SO MANY burger recipes saved, I love them!

Veggie Girl - Thanks! I just can't wait for tomatoes - I'm talking homemade falafel, I can't wait!

Chickpea - They were so spicy and sweet, seriously, yam fans rejoice!

Rural Vegan - They were really good. Right you are, I didn't even note the wonders of the grilled vegan burger - oh don't get me started!

Mihl - Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it.

I am hoping to always have burgers in my freezer now. I've never been very satisfied with the store bought burgers, so until now, I've only been able to get my 'fix' by going to the local vegetarian restaurant that makes them from scratch. Although they took their bitchin' black bean burger off the menu! !!!! I am going to make my first attempt at those this weekend!

Bianca - Aren't they wonderful. It WOULD be a great way to use up your Matzoh meal, that's what I am trying to do. I bought it so I could use them in place of bread crumbs (couldn't find vegan bread crumbs and didn't realize how easy it was to make my own), so now I am trying to get rid of them so I can make homemade crumbs.

Chocolate Covered - I felt it was appropriate for the holiday. I bet they would have been even better with some pasta salad and lemonade!

Courtney - I hope you like them. Lentils and I are getting to be good friends. Brett thought he didn't like lentils at all (after eating red lentils in Indian food), but has really warmed up to the green lentils, he actually admits to liking them!

Erin said...

Nothing wrong with a huge burger, I say.

Alicia said...

Why I'm I so lazy? I never make burgers although they're such a great food to freeze and use whenever you need. It's the actual thought of dealing with the mixture with my hands what puts me off. Is that weird? hehe

Anonymous said...

When I first saw the photo of your meal I thought..."Wait! Where's the tortilla?!" That spicy burger looks yummy, especially with roasted asparagus and shoestring yams. What a filling, healthy meal! I completely agree, food that freezes well is a necessity in the summer, all year actually!

M said...

Cocoa on the yams? I'm looking forward to trying that. Sounds like my kind of meal. I love lentil burgers (and am partial to asparagus and yams).

Mylène

Unknown said...

your food is amazing. all the time!

i'd say i'd have to give up bananas. pretty much everything i eat is loacl except bananas. and honestly i dont have any other "addictions" that i would have a hard time living without. but i absolutely love bananas.

Lizzy said...

I almost made these last night. I had wanted to prepare black bean burgers until I noticed I didn't have any more beans and then I remembered your recipe, copied it, got my lentils and saw "Damnit, they're brown lentils!" Would these work just aswell as green lentils? Because I'm in such a pattie mood at the moment =p and this recipe begs me to be made, ha ha!

And HOLA, those buns are huge, he he!

J said...

Erin - Hahaha! Good motto, it was just a bit to fit the mouth around!

Alice - :-) I've been really lazy up until now in that respect. I've wanted to try my hand at burger making for a long time, but cooking up a batch of beans and rice and throwing it in a tortilla is much easier. Not to mention, we rarely have bread around and I never know what to do with the rest. I think I'll start freezing the extras.

No, I didn't mix it with my hands, just formed a patty with my hands, and it is a bit gross, I mean it's all mushy and stuff. So, no I don't think it's weird.

Vegan Addict - HAHAHAHAHA! :-) Well, I just posted a tortilla recipe so you can rest assured.

It was really good, just so much food! I don't necessarily intend on making our food healthy, but sometimes it just happens that way. And who doesn't like roasted asparagus or yams?

I agree, it's convenient any time, I mean, you spend a day making something, why not make a little extra for some other time?

M - It's really good, traditionally, Mexican food involves cloves, cinnamon, and cocoa in a lot of applications and I was really wary to try making it with these things at home, 'cause, well it just seemed weird. But it's amazing! But you only use a pinch - Except in mole.

I am growing very fond of lentils and they worked really well in burgers too.

Selina - Thank you! That's so nice!

I 'gave up' bananas awhile back after I saw an alternative news piece about co-ops selling Fair Trade organic bananas. I wrote my grocer and asked them to carry them (we ate a LOT of organic bananas), and said I wouldn't buy more until they did. Well, that was four or five months ago, so maybe I should write them again.

I have other things that I could work on, which I am, such as using less water, making my own dish soaps, not drinking coffee or tea, etc. The water situation I'm working on, the soap thing - well, I have a full-time job, there is only so much I can do. And in my own defense, I ONLY buy Fair Trade and organic coffee or tea and don't drink coffee daily anymore.

I was hoping to see more people commit to living without or using their car a lot less. Especially for people who have access to public transportation, it may not be as 'convenient', but it is workable in many areas.

That's awesome. I think it's great that you are doing everything you can in your daily life to reduce your impact on the planet and wean yourself off of the oil 'teet' as much as you can. It's damn near impossible to do it completely, and I also don't think that it's necessary, but we should get used to dealing with a lot less. If for nothing else than the reason underlying the motto 'Live simply so that others may simply live.'

You rock Selina!

Lizzy - OH NO! They actually ARE green lentils, they just look kind of brown. I've actually never seen the brown ones, our store only carries red and green. I hope you like these if you make them.

I do, however, suggest smaller buns, these were insane and actually a bit difficult to eat because they were so big.

Rich & Shawna said...

Those spicy yams look & sound divine. Your food makes me miss living out west.