I've never been a fan of hamburgers. To be honest, I never had a non-vegan burger. Like never. I was robbed of that McDonalds experience as a kid, because I was a fan of chicken nuggets. Like a fan so big, I took six McNuggets instead of four plus a present. Yep. Don't judge. Since I've been vegetarian since I was 7 or 8 (not really sure), I never had the chance to try a real burger neither. And I wasn't really interested in burgers before I went vegan and ate meat for about six months. Don't worry, never going back to meat.

If I wasn't a fan of real burgers, I sure am a fan of veggie burgers. I've had quite a few good ones out for example : here, here, here... I also made quite a few, but I never made a really good one. But then I made quinoa burgers from SK and I instantly fell in love. All doe this recipe is not based on quinoa, but on lentils, the texture is really similar. Same idea, different burger. Both delicious, but this one is slightly higher in protein which is never a bad thing if you're vegan.

I've made three batches of these burgers so far and they always work. I usually make them bigger than this time and eat them with a salad "bun", hummus, avo and tomato, but this time I felt like something special. I made a single serving sprouted spelt bun and vegan garlic & pumpkin seed oil mayo based on young thai coconuts (and no, it does not taste like coconuts). I smothered the patty between the bun with the mayo, a slice of tomato, spring onions and a salad leaf.

Lentil, oat & vegetable burger / vegan + gluten free

1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 large zucchini, shredded
1/2 leek, sliced
2 cloves of garlic

1 can lentils (any color) - 1 3/4 cups
3/4 cup oats, ground into flour
3 tbsp chia or flax meal
1 tbsp nutritional yeast, optional

salt, pepper, garlic powder, to taste

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet. Add all of the veggies and saute until they're about half the size they used to be. Add lentils to a large mixing bowl and mash, but not completely. Add the vegetables, spices and mix well. Now add the oat flour and chia/flax meal and knead into a dough. Divide the mixture into four large or eight small patties and put in the fridge for about an hour. Fry them for about four minutes on each side. I find that a teaspoon of coconut oil per burger works perfectly when you're frying them.