Ingredients
California Fig Mayonnaise
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 California Dried Figs, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
California Fig Puree
- 6 California Dried Figs, stems removed and halved
- ½ cup water
Lentil Burgers
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 8 ounces sliced white button mushrooms
- 2 cups cooked brown lentils
- ¼ cup toasted bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 burger buns
- 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
Directions
Place all the mayonnaise ingredients in a small bowl and stir well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To make the fig puree, place the figs and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the figs are tender. There should be about 3 tablespoons of liquid left in the bottom of the pan. Discard or add water as needed.
Once cool enough to handle, transfer the figs and water to a small blender or food processor and puree until smooth. It should make about ¾ cup. Set aside to cool completely.
While the fig puree cooks, begin sauteing the onions. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 4 minutes, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 10 to 20 more minutes until golden to medium brown, depending on your texture preference. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Transfer the onions to a bowl, leaving about a teaspoon of oil in the skillet, and set it aside.
To make the burgers, add the lentils, ¾ cup fig puree, bread crumbs, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper to a bowl. Stir to mash all ingredients. The contents should easily stick together with bits of both broken and whole lentils. Form into 4 patties.
Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a separate large, deep skillet set over medium-high. Cast-iron works well. Make sure the skillet is very hot. The burgers should sizzle when they hit the pan.
Place the burgers in the hot skillet and cook for 5 minutes, until the underside is dark brown. Carefully flip the burgers and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes, until both sides are dark brown and there is a firm crust on the outside of the burger. Let the burgers rest on a plate for 2 minutes before assembling to serve.
While the burgers are cooking, place the skillet that cooked the onions back over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer. You may need to work in batches. Let cook for 2 minutes, until the underside is browned. Flip and cook another minute. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt and then stir and cook 2 more minutes, until tender.
Just as they finish cooking, push them to the side and add the onions to the pan, just about 1 minute to heat them up.
When ready to assemble the burgers. Spread ¼ of the mayonnaise on the bottom of each bun. Top with the burger. Add an equal amount of onions, mushrooms, and blue cheese to each. Cover with the top of the bun and serve.