I have been craving a veggie burger lately. I am a sucker for small food so I made sliders. Since my husband doesn’t love lentils, I made these with red lentils which don’t hold their shape. This makes it easier to mix them with other ingredients, therefore hiding them a bit. I cooked the lentils in vegetable stock to add more flavor. A panko coating makes this sliders super crunchy. The result was a delicious treat. My husband loved them. I only told him about the lentils afterwards.
It’s hard to find good sliders buns here, so most of the times I just make my own. I used my Soft Pretzel Twists to make these mini pretzel buns. The ingredients are the same; there are just a few different steps. Once the dough has risen, divide it into 16 equal pieces. Then form each piece into a ball. Place the balls in the baking soda/water bath for 30 seconds. Then place them on a prepared baking tray (lined with parchment paper and lightly greased with vegetable oil). Cut a cross in the middle of each bun, brush the tops with an egg wash and sprinkle with some sea salt. Bake for 8 minutes at 230C/450F. For the recipe of the pretzels just click here.
This recipe makes 14 sliders.
Ingredients:
For the sliders:
600gs of sweet potatoes
½ cup of red lentils
2 cups of vegetable stock
40grs of grated Parmesan
Pinch of onion powder
Pinch of garlic powder
Pinch of lemon pepper
Pinch of celery salt
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of pepper
1/3 cup of breadcrumbs
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
For the breading:
1 ½ cups of panko
½ cup of breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon of Salt
¼ teaspoon of Celery salt
¼ teaspoon of Paprika
For the lime mayo:
7 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Juice of ½ a lime
Celery salt to taste
Extras:
2 avocados, sliced
A handful of frisse
Garden cress
Olive oil for pan-frying the sliders
Roast the sweet potatoes for 1 hour at 180C/350F.
While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, start cooking the lentils. Place the lentils and vegetable stock in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until soft, stirring from time to time. This will take about 15 minutes. Once they are cooked, turn off the heat and let them dry out in the saucepan for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes are up, mash them with the back of a wooden spoon.
To make the lime mayo, mix the mayo with the lime juice and celery salt. Set aside.
Once the sweet potatoes are done, peel them and place them in a large bowl. Mash them with a fork. Add the lentils and the rest of the ingredients for the sliders. Mix well.
Mix all of the ingredients for the breading in a bowl.
Grab about 2 tablespoons of the sweet potato mixture and form it into a ball. Coat the ball in the breading. Apply some pressure so it sticks. Repeat for all of the mixture.
Pour about 6 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place 7 balls in the pan. With the help of a spatula, press each ball a bit to create a hamburger shape. Cook until they are evenly brown on each side. Repeat for the rest of the sliders.
Serve on the mini pretzel buns, with some frisee on the bottom and top them with avocado, lime mayo and garden cress.
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