Lentil Burgers, Chicken Piccata, and Ratatouille

Hey, guys! For lunch today, we had reheats of a lunch I made last Saturday. I had made a big ol' batch of red lentil patties. Of course, they don't taste like meat, but they are very good. The patties alone are a good source of protein and fiber, and very low in fat. The nutrition facts of the original recipe, before I added anything, is, per patty;
151 calories, (19 from fat) 2g total fat (0 saturated), 0 miligrams cholesterol, 164 mg sodium, 33g carbohydrate (10 g fiber, 23g sugar), 11g protein.

It's pretty good for you! I think they're really tasty, too!


This picture isn't pretty. Husband got off work early so I didn't have time to play with it for a better picture, since I wanted to talk to him about his day. This is the best you get! HA! :)

*Update 6/23* I made this again today, and decided to take a picture so you could see the inside and the yummy, gooey cheese! Yummmmmm!! You can see the steam coming off of it!

As a side note, this recipe makes 8 fairly massive patties. If, when you go to form the patties, you feel they are larger than you want, put the mixture back in, level it all off, and divide into 10 patties. If you're good at dividing into odd numbers (which I am not), 9 may give you the best size. I like the big ones, though, so I stuck with 8.

Here's what you do;
This takes about 20 minutes to prep, 30 minutes to chill, and 10 minutes to cook.

1 pound red lentils (Okay, I couldn't find them at the store, so I used brown lentils. If I ever find red ones, I'll make this with them and let you know which is better!)
5 cups water, salted (For the lentils I used, I ended up needing to add an extra cup of water because there wasn't enough after a couple of minutes. It may be the recipe, or it may be that brown lentils absorb more water than red. No idea.)
1 large onion, minced
1 large carrot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil cooking spray
2 cups chopped crimini mushrooms (about an entire 10oz container. If your store is out of crimini, use a portobello cap.)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
salt
finely ground black pepper
1 cup panko bread crumbs (if your patties aren't holding their shape well, use more, or add some whole wheat flour.)
4 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
10 ounces firm tofu, pureed in a blender
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into one inch cubes
8 whole wheat buns
red onion, sliced
spicy brown mustard or dijon mustard
tomato, sliced thick
bib lettuce or spinach
avocado, sliced
dill pickle spear

In a large pot, simmer lentils according to package directions in salted water, until tender. Drain and cool.

In a large skillet, saute the onion, carrot, and garlic in cooking spray until tender, roughly 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and liquid has evaporated, around 5 minutes, and cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add the panko, lemon juice, pureed tofu, oil, and cooked lentils to the veg mixture and mix to combine. Transfer to a large bowl, chill for 30 minutes. Divide the mixture in 8 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball, and divide in half. Add a cube of cheese into the middle of one half, place the second half on top, and seal the edges completely. Do this with the rest. (If you aren't going to eat them all now, place the pre-made patties you won't be eating into an air tight container and pop in the refrigerator until you're ready, or seal in a Ziplock bag and freeze. When ready, thaw if frozen, and cook as directed.)

Pan fry in olive oil cooking spray until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Finish in oven to heat through, about 5 minutes. If desired, toast buns in the skillet as the burgers cook. If desired, saute red onion with salt and pepper until slightly soft but still crisp.

Slather buns with mustard and top with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and red onion. Top with lentil patty and serve with a pickle spear! Yumm!!

This recipe serves 8


For dinner, I really really wanted to make veal piccata. Unfortunately for me, there was no veal at the store, so I substituted for chicken. I also made a version of Ratatouille. It was very, very good!


For the piccata;
This takes 15 minutes to prep and cook.

5 cups egg noodles
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons chopped parsley, divided
olive oil cooking spray
2 chicken breasts
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1 1/3 cup low-sodium, low-fat chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons capers, drained
4 lemon wedges

Cook noodles in boiling, super salty water, according to package directions. Remove pot from heat. Drain pasta and return to pot. Toss pasta with olive oil and 2 tablespoons parsley. Cover with lid to keep warm. Toss occasionally while you prepare the rest of the dish.

While pasta is cooking, slice chicken breasts in half horizontally. Top all four halves with plastic wrap and pound (You can use anything heavy. I use my rolling pin, but you can use a meat pounder or heavy skillet, as well.) until 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add chicken to skillet and cook, flipping once, until thoroughly cooked, 5 to 6 minutes total. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm, or set on a baking sheet and place in a warmed (but not on) oven. Add broth to skillet, and scrape to pick up all of the yummy brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. (If you still want it thicker, stir 1/2 tablespoon into some cold water until fully dissolved, temper with a little hot broth, and add to pan. Bring to a boil to allow the cornstarch to thicken the broth, and return the heat to low and continue to simmer to desired consistancy.) Whisk in 1 tablespoon butter until melted, and stir in the capers and remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, pile noodles onto each plate, top with chicken, and pout sauce over top. Serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top, and garnish with freshly grated parmesan and a sprig of thyme. Super delicious!

This recipe serves 4

The creation of Ratatouille goes as follows;
This takes 50 minutes to prep and cook, and 30 minutes to chill

1 eggplant, peeled, and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
1/4 teaspoon chile pepper flakes
pepper to taste
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and roughly chopped
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced2 small zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon of the salt, and set aside in a paper towel lined bowl while preparing the other ingredients. (This is to pull the excess moisture out of the eggplant so it won't make your dish a mush mess.)

Combine the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, oil, garlic, herbes de Provence, chile flakes, and pepper into a small bowl, and whisk well.

Add the remaining vegetables, except eggplant and tomatoes, into a large bowl and pour olive oil mixture over top. Blot the eggplant well with another paper towel and add to the bowl. Toss well to coat all vegetables with the oil mixture. Spread the vegetables evenly onto a foil lined baking sheet (Use 2 sheets if necessary), and roast until golden and very soft, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring once or twice.

In a large bowl, add tomatoes and crush with your hand or a wooden spoon to break them up. Add roasted vegetables and vinegar and stir well. You can serve this warm, but classically it is served at room temperature. If you will be serving it at room temperature (as I did), let sit about 30 minutes to cool. (This gives you the perfect amount of time to make some piccata, and gives you a warmed, yet no longer on, oven to keep your chicken warm in.) You can also make it a day ahead and chill in your refrigerator overnight. Just set out to let it come back up to room temperature before serving.

If desired, garnish with some freshly grated parmesan. It isn't the prettiest thing ever, but it is a highly tasty vegetable stew. I really liked it, but there are a few different ways to prepare a Ratatouille, I may experiment with another later to find what I like best. I love roasting vegetables and prefer the flavor roasting brings far more than any other preparation method, so this one will probably win out over all!

This recipe serves 4