Viking Veggie Burgers with Smoked Gouda
This meatless burger is a staple on the menu at Club Helsinki—a restaurant/music venue in New York’s Hudson Valley. Even devout carnivores swoon over this veggie version, created more than 15 years ago by co-owner Deborah McDowell.
Ingredients
Ingredients
Burgers
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 6 ounces portobello mushroom caps
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt separated
- ¾ ground black pepper separated
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 bell peppers 1 red, 1 green, cored and chopped
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
Toppings
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion halved and thinly sliced
- 10 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 8 thick slices smoked Gouda
- 8 burger rolls
- Lettuce tomato, pickle, or other desired garnishes
Instructions
Instructions
Burgers
- Combine lentils with 4 cups water in saucepan and boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook until lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Toss portobello mushroom caps with 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast mushrooms until tender, about 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, then dice.
- Heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, peppers, celery, carrot, and garlic; sauté until vegetables are soft. Set aside. Drain lentils and mash them in large bowl. Add diced mushrooms, sautéed vegetables, tamari, balsamic vinegar, and mustard. Mix well. Add breadcrumbs, remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper, and mix lightly. Shape mixture into 8 burgers and flatten each to ¼-inch thickness; refrigerate 15 minutes.
Toppings
- Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and cook 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring, 5 minutes.
- To cook burgers, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in skillet over medium heat. Add 4 burgers and cook 5 minutes. Flip burgers 5 minutes more. Top each burger with gouda and cook until cheese melts. Repeat with remaining burgers. Assemble burger, cooked mushrooms, onions, and desired toppings between each roll.
Jacqueline Plant
Jackie Plant freelances as a recipe developer and editor/food writer for magazines and websites such as Weight Watchers, Family Circle and Culture magazines, while contributing to the development of cookbooks. She has spent much of the past 20 years developing recipes and writing about food for national magazines, such as Parents, Country Living and Woman’s Day Magazine.
