Olive Lentil Burgers - cooking recipe

Ingredients

olive oil (from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons, your choice)
1 small yellow onion, diced medium
1/2 lb cremini mushroom, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 cup kalamata olive, pitted (or any olive you like)
1 (15 ounce) can cooked lentils, rinsed and drained (1 1/4 cups)
1 cup breadcrumbs, divided
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350\u00b0F.
Preheat a large, heavy bottomed pan non-stick (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat.
Saute onion for about 3 minutes with a pinch of salt.
Add mushroom, garlic, black pepper, thyme and tarragon and saute for 7 to 10 minutes, until mushroom is cooked.
While mushroom is cooking, place olives in food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped (not pureed.)
Remove from food processor and set aside. (No need to clean it out for the next step.).
When mushrooms have cooked, add mushroom mixture to the food processor.
Add all other ingredients except for 1/2 a cup of the breadcrumbs. (Did you hear me? Reserve 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs, this will give them better texture.)
Pulse until mostly smooth, but there should still be a little texture.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Add the remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs to the burger mixture, along with the chopped olives, and thoroughly combine.
Divide burger mix into 6 equal pieces.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Form mixture into patties, spray with a little more cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes.
Flip burgers and bake for 12 to 15 more minutes, until nicely browned.
They taste great served immediately but they're also excellent at room temperature so don't be afraid to stuff into a sandwich and take as a lunch.