Lentil and Cashew Burgers with Caramelised Onions, Avo Smash and Creamy Chipotle
These vegetable burgers get the big tick – they're packed with flavour, protein and fibre, and both carnivores and vegetarians love them. This recipe is from Nadia Lim's Fresh Start, Feel Good cookbook!
Ingredients
Caramelised onion
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 brown onions, thinly sliced
- 1½ Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
Lentil and cashew burgers
- ½ cup roasted cashew nuts
- 1 400g can brown lentils, rinsed and drained well
- 1 Tbsp tahini
- ½ red onion, grated or finely diced
- 1 free-range egg
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp each, sumac and lemon pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
- ½ cup dried breadcrumbs or ground almonds
- 1 Tbsp GF or plain flour
- 2 tsp olive oil
Avo smash
- Flesh of 1 firm ripe avocado
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Creamy chipotle
- ¼ cup unsweetened natural Greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt or lite sour cream
- 1-2 Tbsp chipotle sauce
To serve
- 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
- ½ telegraph cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 baby cos lettuce or ½ iceberg lettuce, chopped
- Pickled gherkins and jalapenos
Instructions
- To make the caramelised onions, heat olive oil in a medium pot on medium heat. Cook onion for 7-8 minutes, stirring often, until starting to caramelise. If at any time the onion is sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning, add 1-2 tablespoons of water, stir and it should unstick. Stir through balsamic vinegar and honey, cook a further 1-2 minutes then remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- While onions cook, make the lentil and cashew burgers. Crush cashews with a rolling pin (or in a food processor) and add to a medium bowl with half the lentils, tahini, onion, egg, lemon zest, soy sauce, spices and parsley. Mash well with a potato masher, until mixture has the consistency of hummus. Season with salt and pepper and stir through remaining lentils, breadcrumbs/ground almonds and flour.
- Divide burger mixture into four and shape into patties, about 1cm thick. Set aside on a plate and dust each with a little flour.
- Heat half of the oil in a large non-stick fry-pan on low-medium heat. Cook lentil burgers, two at a time, for 2-3 minutes each side, until golden brown and cooked through. You may need to add ½ teaspoon more oil when you flip the burgers, to help the crust crisp up. Set burgers aside to drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, roughly mash avocado with lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. In another small bowl, mix yoghurt/sour cream and chipotle sauce.
- To serve, top each lentil and cashew burger with tomato, cucumber, avo smash, caramelised onions and place on a bed of lettuce. Drizzle with creamy chipotle and sprinkle with pickled gherkins and jalapenos.
Notes
Tip: If you have a food processor, save time by blitzing lentil burger ingredients until combined, then stir in remaining lentils, breadcrumbs/almonds and flour.
Nutrition information:
Energy: 444cals (1856kJ)
Protein: 14.6g
Carbohydrate: 30.8g (13.1g sugars)
Fat: 27.7g (4.2g saturated fat)
