Southwestern Lentil Burgers

Upon his return from a teaching conference in Texas,

the hubs was hungry.

For some reason, I immediately thought,

"I'll make lentil burgers."

Lentil burgers?

When have I ever eaten a lentil burger?

I mean, I was sure they were good,

but I had no experience

1) making them

or 

2) eating them

that would lead me to feel confident

making them for a hungry man for dinner.

I did it anyway.

We are now lentil burger fans.

Here is my recipe
 (I took a recipe from the internet-
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cumin-spiced-red-lentil-burgers
and changed it based upon what we had in the fridge):

3/4 cups red lentils 

1/8 cup plus 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped 

1 can green chiles, sliced open, cut into burger-length slices

1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped 

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 teaspoons ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 cup plain, dry bread crumbs

1 large eggs, lightly beaten (or 2 Tbs. ground flax seed mixed with water...form a paste)

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 

Your favorite BBQ sauce

Your favorite cheese (I chose cheddar)

 

1. In a large saucepan, cover the lentils with cold water by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer the lentils until they are very tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the lentils well.
2. Preheat the broiler. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the carrots, red bell pepper, and garlic and cook until the carrots begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cayenne and remove from the heat. Mix in the bread crumbs, the eggs (or flax), salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 1/4-cup burgers (I made 6 from this recipe).
3. Line a baking sheet with foil. Brush the foil and both sides of the burgers with the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Broil until golden, about 3 minutes per side.
4. Meanwhile, roast the green chiles in a medium-heated pan, approx. 3 min./side.
5. After broiling burgers, place them in the heated pan (take green chiles out first :), approx. 2 min/side.  Add the cheese on top of the burgers to melt the cheese while in the pan.  
6. Note from the hubs: Toast the buns (I just used cut-up wheat bread pieces...it's all we had, but it was delicious!).  Top the burgers with BBQ sauce, and enjoy!! 

Make Ahead: The lentil burgers can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated overnight.