Zippy Red Lentil Burgers

These are obviously not raw, but if you are transitioning to a plant based diet, and crave a bit of cooked food on a cold, Winter evening, these are super yummy and easy to prepare. Dairy free Yogurt Sauce on the side. Yummmmy! You can make raw fermented yogurt from almonds...recipe posted elsewhere on this blog. But here is a quick mock yogurt.



Zippy Red Lentil Burgers
1 1/2  cups red lentils
1/4  cup extra virgin  olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, grated
1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2  tsp cumin
1/8  tsp cayenne pepper
3/4  cup almond flour  panko
1/4  cup parsley, chopped
2  Tbs  ground flax seed
1/2 cup filtered water
1 tsp  sea salt
black  pepper to taste

Greek Yogurt Sauce - 

 Make cashew cream mixing 1cup raw  cashews and 1 cup or more water. Blend well. 
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1Tbsp parsley, chopped
sea salt, to taste

Directions
In a saucepan, cover lentils with water about 2 inches and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer  about 10 minutes, until lentils are tender. Drain the lentils well and set aside.

Preheat broiler.

In a small bowl, mix cashew cream, lemon juice, garlic and parsley and set  yogurt sauce aside.

In a medium skillet, heat olive oil and cook onion over medium high heat until golden, about 5 minutes. (Stir frequently)

Mix flax seeds and water, whisk with a fork and set aside.

Add  garlic and carrots  to skillet and cook about 5 minutes until carrots begin to soften

Stir in cumin and cayenne and transfer from skillet to a large bowl. Add brown rice crumbs, parsley, flax seed mixture, salt and pepper and mix well.

Add drained lentils and mix. Form the mixture into 8 1/2 cup burgers.

Brush a baking tray and both sides of burgers with oil. Broil until golden, about 7 minutes per side.

Serve the burgers hot, with a dollop of yogurt sauce and sliced cucumbers.