After the successful Black Bean Burgers recipe I shared with you guys a few weeks ago, I decided to try my hand at lentil burgers! I love lentils – they’re full of fibre (which, I may have mentioned before, as a population we are NOT getting enough of), plant protein and various vitamins and minerals too! They’re a fantastic nutrient dense food and are also very filling due to the fibre and protein content. Courgettes (or zucchini if you live in the USA!) are 100% one of my favourite vegetables – I loved the zoats trend, and have moved now towards more savoury recipes with this ingredient. These are a simple recipe you can make ahead of time and add a couple of the burgers to a salad for lunches during the week!

Recipe (Makes 6 Burgers)

Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely diced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon and turmeric
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 1/2 courgette, grated
• 3 tbsp oats, blended into flour
• 200g of cooked lentils (I use the pre-cooked tinned variety by Biona & Epicure)
• A twist of black pepper to season

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 175C (fan oven), and line a baking tray with tinfoil greased with a little olive oil.
2. Get your blender, and add the following to the blender cup: the lentils (drained and rinse first), courgette, lemon juice, garlic and spices. Whizz the mixture for just a couple of blasts – you don’t want to go as far as hummus consistency.
3. Tip the blended mix into the bowl, and add the oat flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. When the oven is ready, scoop out roughly circular burger patties, and flatten them a little onto the tray.
5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. You can freeze these too if you want to make them ahead of time – just microwave them for 20-30 seconds to defrost!

Enjoy guys! Tag me if you try this one out – @theirishbalance on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook!

Ciara 🙂 x