Herbed Red Lentil Burgers with Feta

I decided to try developing a red lentil burger again, with a completely different recipe that relies less on vegetables and more on the lentils.  And while I have been eating vegetarian meals this past month, I've mainly been posting the poultry ones.

For those of you who missed version #1, they tasted good but fell apart.  This time, they're less green and more cheesy, with some almond flour as the binder to be GF and higher in protein.  Still couldn't figure out how to make them vegan without tons of tapioca flour, so there's egg.

The main taste in these is the feta and garlic.  I liked it, but if you're not completely sold on the feta idea, maybe cut the amount in half.  These have protein from the lentils, feta, egg, and almond flour, but there's also quite a bit of saturated fat.  There's enough salt in the feta not to add any, and the herb flavors come through without that help.  I put them on the last of the sauerkraut rye hamburger buns, with a bit of lettuce from the garden and a drizzle of miso-tahini dressing.

*2/3 C red lentils
4 oz crumbled feta
1/2 C finely chopped fresh herbs & green onions
1 clove garlic, minced
*2 Tb tapioca flour (starch)
*2 Tb almond flour
2 eggs, beaten
olive oil for the pan

1.  Sort and rinse lentils.  Place in a small saucepan with water to cover by one inch.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover, and simmer until tender and beginning to split, about 10 minutes.  Drain well.  Just leave them in the strainer while you chop the herbs.

It's an Alaskan ulu knife.  Supposed to be for meat, but I use it for herbs.

2.  Combine cooked lentils, chopped herbs, feta, and garlic in a bowl (or I just put them back in the saucepan).  Stir in tapioca and almond flours until evenly distributed.  Add eggs and stir until evenly moist.

3.  Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat.  Lightly grease with about 1 Tb of olive oil.  Scoop 1/4 C of lentil mixture onto the griddle to make a patty.  It should have a little height to it.  Continue until you run out of room.  I ended up with two batches.

4.  Cook until bottoms are browned and they start to firm up, about 4 minutes.  Carefully flip and cook until they hold together well.  You're cooking the egg and tapioca flour.  If necessary, re-oil the pan between batches.

5.  Serve hot on buns with the usual fixings, 2 patties per serving.

Makes 8, two per serving for main dish

Difficulty rating  :)