Hooray for Meatless Monday!
Even more exciting…the BOY participated this week : )
For dinner, I decided on Curried Veggie Burgers from Pinch of Yum. And to my surprise, I got no protests from my roommate. Although we both eat meat, I love exploring vegetarian recipes that focus on quality ingredients and fragrant spices. I picked up all of my ingredients at the grocery store today. I was impressed with all of the nutrient-packed ingredients in these burgers, and couldn’t wait to see how it all came together.
My one hiccup came when I couldn’t find canned lentils at the grocery store. Does anyone know where they are? Instead, I boiled up a batch of my own lentils, which was a bit of a disaster. I always use lentils in recipes, but have never made them plain. What I got was a huge mushy mess. I didn’t worry about that too much though because I knew they were heading into burgers.
I was surprised to see cashews in these burgers and excited to toast them up, take a taste, and then create the paste.
Also into the mix…chickpeas, onions, carrots, spices, and brown rice. Somehow, I didn’t have any TJ’s brown rice in the freezer, but this mix made the perfect substitute.
NOTE: This is important! If you have a smaller food processor (like mine which is 7 cups), you might want to cut this recipe in half! I had to do 2 batches in my food processor which made it difficult to evenly mix the spices.
Ok, so once you have your doughy mixture, there is a decision to make. To bake or to fry?
Since I had an abundance of burger mix, I knew that I could try both. So I threw one batch of burgers in the oven and pan fried the rest. In the end, I think I finished with, like 20 burgers. The fried ones were warm and soft (I liked the olive oil coating).
But the baked ones were toasted and crunchy. Both tasted great, but I think next time I would add some extra curry powder! BTW, Lindsay suggests baking then frying the burgers!
The BOY made his burger into a wrap with a variety of toppings.
We both had roasted broccoli on the side, and I spread a layer of hummus over my flavorful burger.
I have plenty of leftovers, so it looks like I am all set for lunch this week. Topped with hummus and avocado, I know this will make a filling midday meal!
Lindsay’s website has the full recipe and all of the tasty details, so definitely head her way before next Monday!
Did you go Meatless today?
What are your favorite meat free meals? Links Welcome!
More Meatless Monday Ideas
Baked Barley Casserole with Mushrooms and Squash
Moroccan Couscous with Saffron
Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry
