Vegan Burger Patties

I'm not a vegan but my mother is and I'm not a fan of her getting her vegan patties from outside the house since there's a whole bunch of chemicals in them. My homemade ones might take you some time but they are very tasty and they don't have any of those nasty ingredients you can't pronounce. Of course, I don't just bake if that's what you think of me. I'm dipping my feet into cooking as much as I can at home rather than buying out. Let's take a look at what goes into these patties then...

Ingredients:

• 250g Yellow Lentils
• 1x Sweet Potato
• 1x Carrot
• 1x Sping Onion
• 1x Tbsp Paprika
• 1x Green Chilli
• 1x Handful of Coriander (optional)
• 250g Breadcrumbs

How To:

1. First of all, you need to soak your lentils so they get a little soft and expand a bit. Grab a pot of cold water and put the lentils in it. Cover the bowl and leave them there for about an hour or so
2. Whilst this is happening, you can make your breadcrumbs. Now, I made my own bread and so, used that to make my breadcrumbs - however store bought breadcrumbs are fine if you check there aren't any nasty ingredients in them
3. Make your breadcrumbs by setting your oven to 200/C and toasting your bread in the toaster. Then place the toast in a blender and blitz until breadcrumby. Then, place the breadcrumbs on a sheet of greaseproof paper set upon a baking tray and put it into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. They should go a bit golden brown. Some might be burnt, but that doesn't matter. Homemade breadcrumbs are never perfect
4. Peel your potato, onion and carrot, chopping them into small, manageable pieces. Set them aside
5. Your lentils should be done soaking. Drain the lentils and then grab a good sized pot. Pour boiling water into the pot and add the lentils then place this on a medium heat and once it starts boiling add every other ingredient except the breadcrumbs
6. Leave the heat on medium and cover the pot. This process should take about 30-45 minutes but all the ingredients will become really, really soft
7. Grab yourself a hand-held blender if you have one and blend the ingredients until they are smooth. Then take the mixture off the heat entirely
8. Fold in your breadcrumbs to create a thicker, pastier mixture and allow the whole thing to cool
9. Now, you can do this next step in an oven but I personally prefer the air-fryer because I am a lazy millennial and everything I eat goes through the process of the air-fryer. If you're using an oven, you will need a sprinkling of oil atop of your patties, if you're using an air-fryer though I wouldn't recommend the oil
10. Once the mixture is cooled, grab a handful of the mixture and form into patties - the mix is going to be very wet so be careful that it isn't hot as well
11. Place the patties on some greaseproof paper and prep your oven to 200/C (or your air-fryer) by warming it up first
12. Place the patties in the oven for ten minutes, then bring them out and flip them over and cook for another ten minutes. You should see them browning and solidifying properly on both sides. What you don't want to do is cook them so much that the mix inside begins to solidify as well. They need to be strong from the outside but nice and light from the inside
13. Leave them aside to further solidify and cool. These can then be reheated in a microwave or for 5 minutes in an air-fryer
14. You can also freeze them for months on end!

Conclusion

It is a lengthy process, but by the end you will have some really nice patties and they're entirely vegan, no nasty ingredients nobody can pronounce and packed with lovely nutrients to help you keep up your health and wellbeing. Plus they are absolutely delicious, and you're talking to someone who doesn't like sweet potato. I think my favourite thing about this recipe is that for older people who may have difficulty chewing and also may have some health issues in the later years, this can be an easy eat which is filling and very healthy too. You can also switch up the lentils for any type of lentil and go a bit further by using chickpeas or any bean instead for some variety. There are so many versions of this recipe I'd like to share. When I make some more, I'll let you know on Facebook!