Lentil and mushroom burger with mushroom bun

Elevate your vegetarian burger game with this delicious and hearty lentil and mushroom burger, sandwiched between two savoury mushroom buns. Recipe compliments of The South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association.

Ingredients

Patty

• 400g white button mushrooms
• 2 x 400g tin brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• ½ red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Avocado salsa

• 1 large ripe tomato, diced (or use a handful of colourful cherry tomatoes)
• ½  red onion, diced
• 2 small to medium sized avocados
• ¼ cup fresh coriander leaves
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Freshly ground pink peppercorns, to taste
• Salt, to taste

To serve

• 8 large portabello mushrooms
• 2 large carrots, peeled & peeled further into ribbons
• 2 cups mixed lettuce
• Sesame seeds

Side suggestion: Sweet potato fries & mayo

Method

For the patty

1. Blitz mushrooms in a food processor until finely diced.
2. Add mushrooms to a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil.
3. Cook out all of their water. Work in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan.
4. Scrape mushrooms into a large bowl.
5. Add the lentils to the dry hot pan and toast them until dry.
6. Add to the bowl of cooked mushrooms.
7. In the same pan add a fresh drizzle of olive oil and cook the onion until soft.
8. Add the garlic and paprika and cook for a minute until fragrant.
9. Add to the bowl of mushrooms and lentils.
10. Add the flour, breadcrumbs and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix everything well together. Mash some of the mixture against the side of the bowl. Keeping some of the lentils whole and some more mashed gives the patty great texture.
11. Divide the mixture into 4. The patties will be around 180g each.
12. Fry patties in a little drizzle of olive oil until golden brown on both sides.

For the salsa

1. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and lightly mash together.
2. Season well.

To build the burger

1. Place the 8 portabellos on a wire rack on top of a baking tray.
2. Sprinkle with a little seasoning and roast for ± 7 minutes at 200˚C until tender.
3. Brush with a little BBQ sauce or any brown sauce to give them a glazed and shiny look.
4. Slice a little off 4 of the portobello “bottom buns” so they sit flat.
5. Top with a generous pile of greens and carrot ribbons.
6. Place a lentil and mushroom patty on each one.
7. Top with a generous amount of the avocado salsa and finish with the top portobello bun.
8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds for a burger effect and serve alongside some crunchy sweet potato fries.