Sweet Potato Lentil Burgers

Last week I was invited to a Lentils and Utensils event at P.Y.T in downtown Los Angeles. The event was hosted by Canadian Lentils which meant every dish was creatively infused with lentils. Everything from the appetizers to the poached lobster and even the dessert. To say the the dishes were freaking fabulous would be an understatement. They were phenomenal. I went in originally thinking it was going to be a Vegan dinner and clearly I am not vegan so I was a little nervous. The poached lobster with beluga lentils was hands down one of my favorites and the gianduja chocolate mousse with crispy lentils was holy heaven fabulous. The dishes were all prepared by chef Jose Centeno and he killed it.

So I left the event totally inspired to make my own lentil dish and came up with a sweet potato lentil burger recipe with Greek yogurt sauce for some extra zazz. If you are vegan you can omit the Greek yogurt and I didn't use eggs in the actual burger itself so just the sweet potato binds it together, making it totally vegan as well. What has gotten into me? Normally I'm making sugar filled donuts, covered in sugar, rolled in sugar, fried in sugar, glazed in sugar, and dipped in sugar. This is so not me and yet sooooooo me. Yum freaking yum. Scroll down for the recipe and check out all the yummy food shots from the event!

How amazing does this sweet potato lentil burger look?

Take it from a turkey burger gal ..... this burger will not disappoint. Recipe below as well as a few pictures from the event!

Chipati bread served with English pea and sesame dip, tumeric, ginger, jujube butter dip, argenthal-berbere cheese dip, and red lentil dip. I ate all four of these FYI.

Ricotta and lentil fritters with honey and lemon zest.
Picture cc: Bob Deutscher (I was eating too fast to take pics of these guys)

Lobster with beluga lentils OMG.
Picture cc: Bob Deutscher

Chocolate Mouse with crispy lentils
Picture cc: Bob Deutscher

Sweet Potato Lentil Burgers

Ingredients
½ cup dry red lentils
1½ tsp olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
3 tbsp plain breadcrumbs
1 tsp Sriracha hot sauce
Trader Joes cilantro and chive Greek yogurt sauce

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Rinse the lentils until water runs clear. Put lentils in a small pot. Add 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Let simmer 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through. Drain any remaining liquid and set lentils aside in a large bowl to cool.

3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium/high heat. Add the onion and sweet potato. Cook for 1 minute and stir. Cover the skillet, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally until the sweet potato is cooked through. Add the crushed garlic, stir and cook for 1 more minute. The vegetables should be cooked through but don't let them burn.

4. Add the sweet potatoes to the bowl of lentils and mash them together with a pastry cutter or fork. Add the cumin, thyme, paprika, salt, sriracha sauce and breadcrumbs. Mix to combine. Form into 6 round patties making sure they are not to thick.

5. Preheat oven to 350°F.

6. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Make sure the skillet is hot! Place patties in the hot skillet. Pan sear for 2 minutes, flip and repeat.

7. Place seared patties on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until golden.

8. Toast a wheat bun and place burger patty on the bun. Top with red onion slices, lettuce, tomato, and Trader Joes cilantro and chive Greek yogurt sauce (if vegan omit sauce).