Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  I love seeing all of the Irish soda bread variations, creative corned beef ideas (umm how amazing does this look!), and recipes utilizing Guinness! I had grand plans to make my Mom’s Corn Chowder tonight, but came home to realize that we had finished all of the potatoes earlier this week when we made Acqua Pazza. I am committed to making it before this season ends, so that will be coming soon indeed!

With my plan out the window, I dug into my pantry to see what I could utilize in a new dish.  Martha Stewart did not disappoint with this recipe for chicken and lentil burgers.  I’ve never thought of putting lentils into a burger before but they added both a nice texture and flavor.  Beyond this, this burger serves as a nice base for a range of future burger concoctions, and it is packed with protein to boot!  I would definitely make these for a crowd, and have enough for each of us to bring the leftovers to lunch tomorrow.

Finally, we topped the burgers with a quick sriracha aioli which gave a perfect kick. Enjoy!
Ingredients:

For the Burgers

• 1 medium onion – diced
• 1 pound of ground chicken breast
• 2 cups of cooked lentils
• 4 Tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• Feta cheese (optional – I used two generous shakes from the tub)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Pinch of garlic and onion powder

For the Aioli

• 2 spoonfuls of mayo
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 a spoonful of garlic
• 2 squirts of sriracha

Steps and Notes:

1. Cook the lentils for about 20 minutes until extra soft.  I added some onion and garlic powder, a pinch of cumin, and salt and pepper to the water as the lentils cooked.
2. Saute the onion in a skillet until golden brown. Add the cumin for 1 minute then place in a mixing bowl.
3. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel.
4. In the bowl, combine the onions, chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, feta, salt and pepper.  Mix well with your hands!
5. Create patties of your desired size and cook, covered, for about 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat.
6. Combine all of the aioli ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
7. Serve with all of your favorite burger toppings!

Thoughts for Next Time:

• Add spinach into the burger mixture
• Add jalapeno into the burger mixture
• Serve with sauteed mushrooms and onions
• Top with avocado or a fried egg!