The ultimate Aussie vegie burger

Ingredients
Serves 4

For the lentil & mushroom patties

• 1 brown onion, diced
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 400g tinned brown lentils
• 2 cups sliced button mushrooms
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp dried marjoram
• ½ bunch flat leaf parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ cup rolled oats or flaked quinoa
• 2 tbsp flax meal
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 faux beef stock cube
• Large pinch pepper

To stack

• 8 pineapple rings
• 4 gluten-free buns
• 4 thick slices tomato
• 4 pieces cos lettuce (broken in half)
• 4 slices tinned beetroot
• 4 slices cheese

To serve

• Sauces of choice

Method
For the patties, place the onion in a food processor and blitz until very finely diced. Remove and transfer to a large frypan over a medium heat with the coconut oil.

Add the lentils and mushrooms to the food processor (don’t worry about cleaning it first) and blitz for 10 seconds or until chopped – be careful not to overchop as you don’t want mush. Add the herbs, garlic, oats, flax meal and 75 ml water. Blitz for a further 10 seconds or until it is all chopped and beginning to come together.

Transfer mixture to a frypan with the onions and add in the tomato paste and stock cube. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes then remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly.

Roll the mixture into 5 patty-size balls and flatten gently. Either bake in a 180ºC oven on a lined baking tray for 20 minutes until crunchy on the outside, or gently fry on each side until golden. Melt the cheese over the burgers in the last 2 minutes of cooking.

To assemble, cut buns in half and cook over a hot plate or frypan until warm and toasted on one side. To plate, simply place a burger onto each bun and divide the remaining ingredients between the burgers. Top with your favourite sauce and serve immediately.

For extra flavour, fry the pineapple on each side over a medium heat in coconut oil until golden.

Recipe by Kate Bradley Kenko Kitchen.