The Healthy Librarian's Recipe for Whole Foods "like" Vegan Lentil Dal Burgers - Sweet & Spicy Black Beans With Roasted Butternut Squash and Fruited Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal

 

 

My Kitchen Lab Version of the Whole Foods Lentil Dal Burger

I love Whole Foods Lentil Dal burgers, and so do a lot of other people.  I'd buy 4 at a time & stick them in the freezer.  I searched in vain for a recipe--and when I couldn't find one, I used the ingredients on the label--I did a little experimenting--and came up with an amazing likeness.  My husband and I finished off all 7 of them within 3 days.  I actually like these better, because they're thinner, and have less oil.

Vegan Lentil Dal Burgers ala Healthy Librarian

1 package of already cooked Trader Joe's French Lentils, 17 oz. (or 2 1/2 cups cooked lentils)

2 garlic cloves, chopped (I used 5 roasted Christopher Ranch garlic cloves--I was lazy)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 small eggplant, peeled, quartered, roasted & chopped  (I used a Japanese) yielding about a cup of chopped peeled eggplant

1 small potato cooked, then peeled & diced.  Yielding about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of small diced potatoes

1/3 cup of chickpea flour (Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo & Fava Flour) to mix + more for lightly dredging patties

1 1/2 tsp. curry powder (more to taste)

2 TBS. Major Grey's Chutney

1 tsp. cumin powder

1 jalapeno pepper chopped, or substitute 1/4 tsp. cayenne (I didn't have a jalapeno, so I subbed cayenne)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 TBS chopped ginger

1/3 cup thawed frozen peas (I didn't have peas, so I left this out)

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have cilantro, so I left this out)

salt & pepper to taste (I didn't use any)

Small amount of canola or olive oil for browning the burgers

Directions

1.  Peel  eggplant, cut it into quarters & roasted it in a 400 degree oven while preparing everything else.  Chop it into smaller pieces when it's soft--about 15 minutes.  When done, lower the oven to 350 degrees.  You'll finish the burgers in the oven.

2.  Saute the onion, ginger, jalapeno, & garlic until the onion is soft.

3.  Pulse process the lentils in your food processor so they are chopped up, but not mushy.  Empty into a large mixing bowl.

4.  Pulse process the onions, garlic, ginger, & the eggplant until they are small tiny pieces.  Empty into the mixing bowl with the lentils.

5.  Add all the other ingredients: the chickpea flour, the cooked diced potatoes, the curry, the lemon juice, the chutney, the peas, the cumin, the cilantro--and mix well.  Taste the mixture & add more of any spice you think it needs.

6.  Using a large plate or foil, sprinkle some chickpea flour on the surface to keep the "burgers" from being too sticky.   Form 7-8 patties, working one at a time, sprinkling a little chickpea flour on the top & bottom so they won't stick to the frying pan.

7.  Heat up a little oil in a large frying pan.  I quickly browned the burgers, in 2 batches, and then I "finished" them off in a 350 degree oven until they were nice & browned, about 20 minutes--I think.  Just watch them!

8.  These keep nicely for 5 days, or you can freeze them individually.  Serve on whole grained buns or as is.

**My family LOVES Terrapin Ridge Spicy Chipotle Garnishing Squeeze on their Lentil Dal Burgers.  When my grocery store stopped carrying them, I ordered a box of 6 from the manufacturer.   Even my St. Louis son orders his own.  It's great on sandwiches and burgers of all kinds.  Note: this is not oil-free or vegan--it has some egg in it.

 

 

 

Spicy Sweet Black Beans with Roasted Butternut Squash - makes 6-8 main servings

**note: my husband chopped the parsley--chop yours much smaller

My sister and brother-in-law made a version of this for us when we visited them in Cincinnati, and I couldn't stop raving about it.  It's amazing.  Their version used black-eyed peas, but I decided I liked the taste of black beans better than the black-eyed peas--and it was a lot easier to just open a can.  I also cut the oil down, and doubled the recipe.  It so delicious, that when I made the regular recipe I was  sorry I din't have more.

2 pkgs. (18 ounces each) of Trader Joe's butternut squash chunks (uncooked in the produce section)   Use 2 1/4 lbs. of peeled cut-up squash if you aren't near a Trader Joe's.

A little olive oil to rub on the chunks for roasting.

A little real maple syrup to rub on the chunks for roasting.

A little coarse salt & pepper for roasting

2 cans (15 oz.) of drained & rinsed black beans

2 red peppers, cored, seeded, and diced.

2  jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded, and diced.

4 TBS. chopped fresh marjoram leaves.  (if you don't have this--don't worry about it--but it's good)

4 TBS. chopped fresh flat (Italian) parsley

Optional:  3 ounces of goat cheese crumbled.  My sister used finely chopped Drunken Goat Cheese.  I left it out.

Sweet and Spicy Vinaigrette - makes 1 cup

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBS. honey
1 large (or 2 small) lemons, grated for zest, and juiced.  (1/3 cup juice)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher or sea salt, and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Stir the vinegar, honey, lemon zest and juice, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl. 

Add the olive oil, whisking constantly until everything is incorporated.  Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week.

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  If you have the convection roast control on your oven, it works best.

2. Using a large baking pan lined with foil scatter the squash cubes in one layer.  Drizzle with just a little olive oil and maple syrup and rub it evenly on the cubes.  Sprinkle with a little salt & pepper.  Roast for about 30 minutes, or until soft & browned on the edges.  Watch carefully, especially if you have the convection roast option.

3.  Cut the cooked, cooled cubes into smaller pieces, and scrape into a large mixing bowl.  Add the black beans, the red peppers, the jalapeno peppers, the marjoram, the parsley and mix well.

4.  Add as much of the dressing as you like.  I used all of it last night--but it's up to you.  Add extra salt or pepper if you think it needs it.

5.  Transfer to a serving platter.  Add the optional goat cheese, or not, or serve it on the side for people who might want some.

6.  Enjoy the leftovers.

 

Overnight Crockpot Fruited Steel Cut Oatmeal

On a whim I decided to try this last night before I went to sleep.  It was easy as pie, and when I came down in the morning I was greeted with an amazing spicy delicious smell, and best of all---I had hot ready-to-eat oatmeal just waiting for me.

This comes from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two, by Beth Hensperger.  It's made for smaller crockpots, the 1 1/2 to 3 quart variety.

Creamy Oatmeal with Lots of Dried Fruit  Serves 3

Cooker:  1 1/2 to 3 quart
Setting and Cook Time:  Low for 8-9 hours.  or High for 3-4 hours.

3/4 cup steel-cut oats
1/4 cup chopped dried pears  (I used chopped dates)
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots (I used dried cranberries)
2 TBS currants
1/2 tsp. Trader Joe's pumpkin pie seasoning (or a little cinnamon & nutmeg)
2 3/4 cups water 
1/2 cup soy milk or other non-dairy milk

1. Lightly spray your cooker with cooking oil spray to prevent sticking.
2. Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours, until thick & creamy.
3. Wake up to delicious cooked oatmeal.  The smell is amazing!  Refrigerate the leftovers for later in the week.

Comments

[Stephanie]

Hi
I love your column .... thank you for helping me make sense of all the information out there.

Have you tried oven baking the dal burger without frying them. I tried to avoid fried foods and found that if you just stick them in the oven it works just as well (I have a delicious recipe for sweet potato falafel in which it is only oven baked - works like a charm.

Stephanie

[The Healthy Librarian]

Thanks for the tip Stephanie and thanks for the kind words!

I've always assumed I needed a little smidge of oil to get the browning effect--but I'm going to give your technique a try. So...just put the dal burgers in the oven at say 350 degrees and they'll brown & crisp up? That would be much better, and much faster. I'd love to try you sweet potato falafel recipe, if you care to share.

[Robert Ross]

Excellent recipes (and a very useful blog on so many subjects -- thanks for all the work you do to educate others).

A couple ideas on the Librarian/Trader Joe burgers:

If you just smoosh up chickpeas rather than using chickpea flour, the glycemic index of the dish will be lower. The smooshed chickpeas add a bit of mouth feel to the burgers.

One way to improve the juiciness of vegetarian burgers is to add chia seeds to the recipe. When I tried yours yesterday, I added one tablespoon, which was enough to give the burgers a really nice mouth feel without changing taste.

Thanks again -- your other two recipes sound very good as well.

Best, Bob

[Ellen]

I've been thinking about buying the pre-made lentils from TJ's. Now I have a good excuse to do so. Sounds like a great burger. Kudos to you for playing detective and figuring out the recipe. I love doing that too! It's kind of like a fun game in the kitchen! And the burger is gluten free. You get extra points for that!

~Ellen

[The Healthy Librarian]

Thanks, Robert for the modification. I just added the chickpea flour because that was on the Whole Foods ingredients list--good to know it's not necessary. It did help with getting out the stickiness when I patted some on the tops & bottoms before browning--which according to Stephanie--is also a step I can ditch.

Never thought of adding the chia seeds.

[The Healthy Librarian]

Ellen, you should definitely try the beans! They're very tasty--and sinse they're the French lentils--they are nice & firm--not at all mushy. It's a big time-saver.

Just picked up a new variety of these all ready cooked refrigerated beans--with a mix of six beans: white & red kidney, cranberry beans, black beans, white navy beans, & black-eyed beans.

[Carrie]

I made the Spicy Sweet Black Beans last night, and all I have to say is, Wow. My husband turned to me and said, "This recipe is a keeper - the flavors just burst in your mouth. You could serve this to company!" High praise, indeed. Not to mention it hit all the 'high notes' for a recipe for me - healthy, easy and tasty.

I have been recommending your blog at every turn lately, it seems. People are just so hungry for nutritional news and inspiration that is based on research and evidence, not just the latest scan of the newswire. Thanks for all you do.

[The Healthy Librarian]

Thanks so much Carrie for the feedback. Great to hear someone else's opinion. The mixture of flavors is amazing + it really is so easy. You & your husband just made my day! So happy you like my blog!!

[Laurie]

Your lentil dal burger is now officially my favorite food! Better than the Whole Foods version, IMHO--theirs can be a little dry. I'll have to try your other recipes and report back!

[Health Librarian]

Wow, Laurie! What an endorsement. Thanks for reporting back. Definitely, please, let me know what works well for you.