This recipe is adapted from a Green Kitchen Stories recipe for Spinach & Quinoa Patties that I have been making for years (original recipe here). Recently when making the patties, I didn’t have quinoa, so I swapped it out for beluga lentils, and I was pleasantly surprised. Lentils are one of my most loved staple foods. They’re satisfying, comforting, versatile & nutritionally rich. Lentils are part of the legume family, they are high in protein, vitamins, minerals & fibre. Studies have found that a diet that regularly includes the intake of lentils is associated with lower body weight, improved cardiac health & increased diversity of bacteria in the gut. A diverse microbiome has a positive effect on almost every function of the body including immune health. Although both quinoa & lentils are nutritionally dense foods, lentils are higher in protein, iron & B vitamins. These burgers are a great for meal prep as they keep for 3 days in the fridge & freeze for up to 2 months. Enjoy these simply with a salad & homemade potato wedges, or as part of a nourishing bowl, in a burger bun with relish, cheese & salad greens or my personal favourite for reheating already cooked burgers, with napoli sauce & grated cheese on top, cooked until bubbly, served with a side salad. makes 10-12 burgers Ingredients 1 cup of raw lentils (= 2 cups when cooked) either beluga or puy (not brown lentils, they are too soft) 80 g rolled oats 4 large eggs (or 5 if you have smaller eggs) 250 g feta cheese, crumbled (I use Barambah organic feta) 1 large bunch of spinach, silver beet or kale (remove large stems if using kale or silver beet) 1 tsp sea salt 10 grinds of pepper 2 tbsp of fresh thyme, roughly chopped coconut oil, butter, olive oil or ghee for frying Put lentils in a pot of water & bring to boil, lower to a simmer & cook until just tender. About 20-30 minutes. Drain, set aside. Wash spinach well, place in a heatproof bowl & cover with boiling water for 1 minute, drain & rinse under cold water, squeeze out excess liquid & roughly chop. In a large mixing bowl, place cooked lentils, oats, eggs, thyme, feta cheese, chopped spinach, salt and pepper and combine until all is mixed. Place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes – 1 hour. Take out the mixture and form 10 to 12 patties with your hands. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the patties and fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Repeat until all are cooked. Serve them warm. The burgers keep for 3 days in the fridge and 2 months in the freezer. Reheat in the oven until warm.