Lentil Burgers and Potato Salad

This was the second meal I made from the Relish menus. The potato salad was absolutely delicious! I highly recommend it. The lentil burgers were another story. They had a good taste, but were very dry. It didn't help that I bought rolls that were way too thick and bready. Dry on top of dry. The other problem was that the recipe for the yogurt dill sauce didn't make enough for our two burgers, so the little sauce that was on the rolls just absorbed right in and didn't do anything to moisten the burgers. And the burgers were incredibly filling. I just barely ate half of mine (although that may have something to do with the fact that I ate more than half of the potato salad by myself. It was so good!).

Lentil Burgers with Yogurt Dill Sauce
Adapted from Relish
Serves 2

1/3 cup dry lentils (I used French green lentils, but I don't know the difference between all the varieties)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tomato sliced
2 rolls

Sauce
1/8 cucumber, peeled and diced (This is an example of ridiculousness when the serving size is reduced. Not to mention, cucumbers are not necessarily uniform in size, so my 1/8 of a cucumber could be smaller or larger than your 1/8 of a cucumber. I happened to have a small cucumber and 1/8 was clearly not enough for the two burgers. I would say you need a good 3/4 cup of diced cucumber. On a separate note, I threw a slice of cucumber in my gin and tonic and it was delicious.)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make cucumber sauce, combine cucumber, yogurt, dill and garlic. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Place lentils in a small saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the lentils are tender but still firm, 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 5 minutes (I had to toast for slightly longer, but we all know my oven is a special case). Let cool.
5. In a food processor, combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Process until finely ground. Add the lentils and pulse until coarsely chopped.
6. In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the lentil mixture and mix well. Divide into equal parts and roll into balls, flatten with the palm of your hand into 3/4 inch patties.
7. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the burgers and cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, turning gently with a spatula, 8-10 minutes per side.
8. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve on buns with a tomato slice and the yogurt dill sauce.

Quick Potato Salad
Adapted from Relish
Serves 2

3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped

1. Place potatoes in a pot of generously salted cold water. Bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.
2. In a large bowl, combine vinegar and Dijon mustard, season with salt and pepper. Add hot cooked potatoes; toss. Let cool, tossing occasionally. Add oil, green onions and parsley. Devour.