Lentil and Sweet Potato Patties

If you are not familiar with cooking with lentils, this is a great recipe to start with.
You will enjoy the flavour and nutrition of these served as a patty with a salad or steamed vegetables,  or on a bun as a family-friendly burger. If you don’t want to bbq, you could cook them in a large frying pan on the stove.

makes 10
V GF

what you need
750g sweet potato, peeled and thickly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup (150g) red lentils
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin
1 cup (250ml) vegetable stock (see basics page 21)
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
1 bunch coriander, stalks and leaves roughly chopped
6 green shallots, roughly sliced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (200g) cooked brown rice
1 cup (200g) brown rice flour
pinch of sea salt
burger buns, hummus (see basics page 20), salad leaves, 
sliced tomato and grated carrot to serve

what you do
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced) and line an oven tray with baking paper. Brush the sweet potato with half of the olive oil, and arrange onto the tray. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until tender.
2. To prepare the lentils, place into a sieve and rinse under running water; drain. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan, and cook the onion, garlic and cumin over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add the lentils, stock and one cup (250ml) water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender and the mixture is thick. Cool.
3. Combine the cooled lentil mixture with the chilli (if using), coriander, shallots, sweet potato chunks, eggs, rice, rice flour, and salt. Mix well. Take ½ cupfuls of the mixture and shape into 10 patties about 2cm thick.
4. Preheat the bbq flat plate over medium heat and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Cook the patties for 5 minutes each side, until golden brown.
5. Serve on the burger buns with hummus and salad leaves, tomato and grated carrot.

Storage: The patties can be frozen, cooked or uncooked.

lentils are an edible pulse or seed, grown in a pod from a plant in the legume family. Lentils come in a range of sizes and colours, with or without skins, whole or split and therefore cooking times vary from 15 minutes up to an hour. The lentils with their husk intact remain whole during cooking (like puy lentils), while the lentils without husk tend to disintegrate into a thick purée (like red lentils). Most commonly used in soups, patties or as a side dish to accompany curries, lentils are highly nutritious, being a good source of protein, iron and dietary fibre.
                                             
© Jane Grover - NAKED FOOD - the way food was meant to be