Butternut Lentil Burgers (Vegan)

Not being one to follow a recipe, here is a modified version of “Butternut Lentil Burgers” from The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman.2011, pg. 129

I used different spices, didn’t follow the instructions and made a double batch. . Also, I cooked enough lentils for the week and I cooked the squash the night before. While it is best the first day, we stir fried a patty a week later and it still tasted good.  Are these the best vegan burgers ever? Nope, but it really hit the spot and I was tired of black bean burgers.

1 cup butternut squash

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

¼ cup tomato souse *

½ cup red lentils

2 tablespoons sesame oil *

1 tablespoon dried chili *

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup organic panko

1 cup vital wheat gluten

* different than original recipe.

What I did:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine everything except the wheat gluten and breadcrumbs.  Mash together with hands or a potato masher. Add wheat gluten and breadcrumbs.  Stir. Make at least 6 balls for burgers. Flatten them to about ½ inch thick.

Put on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Put another parchment sheet over them, and then another cookie sheet. Be careful the paper isn’t sticking out.

Bake for 35 mins.

Injera - Ethiopian sourdough bread (Vegan)

This was an experiment and there are several notes below. I am glad I did it once, but I am unlikely to do it again anytime soon. 


Here is my first attempt based on the book "Wild Fermentation" - Sandor Ellix Katz
2 cups of 1 week old sourdough starter.
2 cups of flour. I used whole wheat bread flour
2 cups of Teff.
5 cups lukewarm water.

Mix, cover and keep in a warm place. Stir often as you can. I let mine sit for 28 hours.

I used a cast iron skillet with saffron oil on the bottom heated just a couple of notches on on the gas stove controller.  Anyhow, it should be well below the midway point or it will brown.

5 mins before making it, I added 1 tsp of baking soda and I let it sit for 3 mins. Then I added 1 Tablespoon of salt.

Pour like a crepe into the hot pan and cover. Pour it fast so that the center isn't too think.  (I used a cookie sheet to cover it).  When it bubbles it is done. No need to flip. (although I did flip a few.) It took a few to get the timing right, but it seemed like mine cooked in 5-6 mins without browning too much. Stack with towels or spread them out to cool. For a few of them, I added water to the mix to make the batter thinner but it didn't seem to make too much of a difference.

My sourdough starter was all whole wheat - ground from wheat berries in the BlendTec. If you need my instructions for the starter, let me know.

After I cooked the first couple in a pan with a tin foil cover, I thought "I'll never do this again". Once I realized it could just walk away with a cookie sheet on top and with the timer set to 5 min. it became really easy.

After more reflection, if I was doing this for a restaurant I would use a commercial sourdough yeast starter packet instead. (The type you start the day before cooking.) In fact, I would even just try a regular yeast packet but start it the... night before. While it is cooking, I would try adding a little salt. I prefer WW flour, but if I was selling it for money, I would really try to see work on the combinations of flours. Maybe even ¾ teft, ¼ something else. I am not loving my sourdough starter, so next time I will try commercial yeast.

 



20 hours of injera batter sitting in my kitchen.