MERCIMEK KOEFTESI

Ingredients:

- 200 g (1 cup) dry red lentils
- 400 ml (1 ¾ cups) water
- 80 g (½ cup) fine bulgur (ince / k�ftelik bulgur)
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion (~250 g), shredded
- 3 tbsp (45 g) tomato paste
- 1 tbsp (15 g) Turkish pepper paste (or sub with more tomato paste)
- 1 tsp salt (2 tsp Kosher)
- 3 stalks of scallion, chopped
- 1 bunch (30 g) flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves, chopped
- ½ bunch (15 g) mint leaves, chopped
- 1 tbsp Aleppo pepper flakes

To Serve:

2 cups salad greens (e.g. Romaine leaves)
lemon wedges

Preparation:

- Place the lentils and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium-low heat with the lid on for about 30 minutes.
- When the lentils are cooked (falling apart), turn off the heat and add the bulgur. Mix well, then leave to cool with the lid on.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add half of the olive oil and onions together. Season with some salt and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until translucent. Add the tomato paste and pepper paste, then leave to cool.
- When all ingredients are cool enough to handle, mix everything including the salt, scallions, parsley, mint, Aleppo pepper, and rest of the olive oil. If the mixture looks dry, add more olive oil.
- Shape the mixture into balls in your palm. Serve with salad greens and lemon wedges.


NOTES

For a gluten-free version, substitute the bulgur with cooked quinoa or rice! It may not stick together as well in the end, but a bit of cornstarch will solve that problem right away.

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