Lentil and Sweet Potato Burgers Recipe
I spend any spare time I have looking for new recipes. Predominantly with you lovely readers in mind, but also to feed and nourish my own family. Not that easy when one of my family mainly wants to eat instant ramen noodles. The last thing I imagined when I found this speedy recipe for Lentil and Sweet Potato Burgers via Emma Spitzer’s Instagram feed was that George, the fussiest eater of all time, would wolf them down.
It’s still January, and I am starting to snaffle down the back of the sofa for 20 pence pieces. My freezer is full of bananas and that’s about it, however, I do have a lot of tins in my cupboards, one of which was fortuitously, green lentils. These, mixed in with a baked sweet potato, and handful of breadcrumbs and some tasty already-in-my-cupboard spices make the most delicious, and most frugal supper. George said his burger tasted as good as his favourite red lentil curry in a bun; fair compliment I’d say. I had mine in a probably-not-vegan brioche bun with a touch of lettuce, mayo and a mighty dollop of mango chutney. So, so good.
Vegan or not, skint or not, fed up with January or not, these Lentil and Sweet Potato Burgers are a breath of fresh air to see us through to February.
Did I mention this is a full vegan line up apart from my buns? Oh and the mayo I added. Everything else is full on Veganuary. But that aside, these are just incredibly tasty, super simple and thankfully frugal burgers.
Make a start by pre heating your oven to 180 degrees fan assisted. Wrap your sweet potato in foil and bake for an hour or until soft. Once soft, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Take a good sized bowl and add the slice of bread you have blitzed into crumbs. Measure in the cumin, ground coriander, chilli flakes and marmite.
Drain your lentils well, as if not, your burgers will be too sloppy. Add them to the bowl with the spiced breadcrumbs.
Take your baked sweet potato and remove the skin. Pop into the bowl with the other ingredients, give it a mash, then squidge the whole lot together until well combined.
Season well with plenty of salt and pepper. Now it’s time to fashion the mixture into burger shapes. I used a cooks ring to shape mine but you can just divide the mixture into four equal portions and pack it, freehand, into burger shapes which fit your chosen burger rolls.
These need at least half an hour in the fridge to firm up so they don’t fall apart when cooked, so pop them in and busy yourself for 30 minutes or until you’re ready to cook them.
When you are ready, set the oven to 180 degrees fan assisted and give your burgers a little spritz with some olive oil then pop in for 30 minutes. They’re ready when the burgers are firm, golden and smelling oh so good.
Leave them to firm up for 5 minutes whilst you prep your rolls, sauces and salad.
These are bloody lovely with some mango chutney and Japanese mayo I stole from Ben, but tuck in with all your favourite bits and pieces.
Scrolling Instagram can often be classed as a waste of time; not on this occasion, however. It’s introduced me to these brilliant Lentil and Sweet Potato Burgers and the joy that is getting George to eat a plant based supper without realising it.
Lucy x
Lentil and Sweet Potato Burgers Recipe
Makes 4 generous burgers
You will just need bowls for this
1 medium sized sweet potato
400g tin green lentils, drained well
1 slice of bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon Marmite
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
Salt and pepper
Buns, lettuce, and sauces to serve, I loved ours with mango chutney
Take your sweet potato, wrap it in foil and bake at 180 degrees fan assisted for an hour, or until soft. Pop to one side to cool. Leave the oven on for the burgers.
Drain your tinned lentils well, you don’t want them to be too wet.
In a good sized bowl measure in the breadcrumbs, cumin, ground coriander, marmite and chilli flakes. Add the well drained lentils. Remove the skin from the sweet potato and add the flesh to the bowl. Mash, then mix the whole lot together until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Season well with salt and pepper.
Line a baking sheet with foil and oil well, so your burgers don’t stick. Take the mixture and fashion into 4 burgers taking care to mould them well. I used a ring cutter for guidance. To ensure they firm up, pop into the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until you’re ready to cook.
Remove the lentil burgers from the fridge and spritz with some olive oil. Pop into the oven for around 30 to 35 minutes or until piping hot, golden and firm. Leave them to sit for a couple of minutes out of the oven so they firm up.
Serve in buns with lettuce and your favourite burger accompaniments. I loved mine with a large dollop of mango chutney.
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