Olive Lentil Burgers

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• olive oil (from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons, your choice)
• 1 small yellow onion, diced medium
• 1/2 lb cremini mushroom, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• fresh black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/2 cup kalamata olive, pitted (or any olive you like)
• 1 (15 ounce) can cooked lentils, rinsed and drained (1 1/4 cups)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs, divided
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f.
• 2 preheat a large, heavy bottomed pan non-stick (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat.
• 3 saute onion for about 3 minutes with a pinch of salt.
• 4 add mushroom, garlic, black pepper, thyme and tarragon and saute for 7 to 10 minutes, until mushroom is cooked.
• 5 while mushroom is cooking, place olives in food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped (not pureed.)
• 6 remove from food processor and set aside. (no need to clean it out for the next step.).
• 7 when mushrooms have cooked, add mushroom mixture to the food processor.
• 8 add all other ingredients except for 1/2 a cup of the breadcrumbs. (did you hear me? reserve 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs, this will give them better texture.)
• 9 pulse until mostly smooth, but there should still be a little texture.
• 10 transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• 11 add the remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs to the burger mixture, along with the chopped olives, and thoroughly combine.
• 12 divide burger mix into 6 equal pieces.
• 13 line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. form mixture into patties, spray with a little more cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes.
• 14 flip burgers and bake for 12 to 15 more minutes, until nicely browned.
• 15 they taste great served immediately but they’re also excellent at room temperature so don’t be afraid to stuff into a sandwich and take as a lunch.