Posted by Yara Coelho on Dec 22, 2013 in Turkish foods, vegan / vegetarian |

Easy vegetarian recipes: vegan Turkish Red lentil Kofte

This vegetarian kofte is one of the most popular appetizers of Turkish cuisine.

Source of this recipe

Easy vegetarian recipes: vegan Turkish Red lentil Kofte

1 cup red lentil

1/2 cup fine bulgur

1/2 cup olive oil

2 cups of water

1 medium onion, very finely chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp tomato + red pepper paste (if you cannot find red pepper paste you can use 1 tbsp tomato paste)

~1 tsp salt

juice of half or 1 lemon (depends on how you like it: sour or not so sour)

1/3 bunch parsley, finely chopped

1/2 bunch green onion, finely chopped

curly leaf lettuce

-Wash lentils and boil them in 2 cups of water until it almost soaks the water.

-Once you turn it off, add bulgur and salt. Mix once and cover to let the bulgur expand. Let it cool off.

-Heat oil in a pan and add the onion (not the green one!) and cook until soft.

-Add tomato paste and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

-Add cumin and stir once you turn it off.

-Add this to the lentils which should be cool by now.

-Add half of finely chopped parsley, green onion, and lemon juice to the lentils. Mix all well.

-Take walnut size pieces and give them kofte shape in your hands.

-You can either place lettuce leaves on a serving plate and put koftes on top as in the picture, or serve koftes and lettuce leaves separately. However, when you eat them you should wrap each kofte in a lettuce leaf.