Mercimek Köftesi (Red Lentil Kofte)

Food prepared by and shared with friends is my favorite kind. Since starting medical school, I haven't done much cooking with others, mainly because all of my cooking buddies are scattered across the globe. So I was excited this week when a new foodie friend of mine taught me how to make Turkish vegetarian kofte (which paired perfectly with the baba ganoush that I recently posted). I found this kofte recipe especially interesting because the ingredients were all very familiar due to my background with Lebanese cooking, yet I had never tasted anything like it. 

The recipe we used came from a Turkish website (luckily one of the cooks knew enough Turkish to get by - hint: it was not me). These kofte were pretty simple to make and were just as good left over as they were fresh. I hope you give them a try!

Mercimek Köftesi

(Adapted from: http://www.portakalagaci.com/oburcuk/2004/04/mercimek_kftesi.html)
Yields about 25 small patties (5-6 servings)

2 c water
1/2 c red lentils
1 c fine bulgar wheat

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add lentils, and bring to a boil. Cook on medium heat until lentils are soft and have formed a mush like consistency. Add the bulgar, stir, and cook on medium-low until the wheat is soft.

1/4 cup olive oil (plus more for desired texture)
1/2 medium red onion (diced)
2 tbsp tomato paste

Add the olive oil to a small skillet. Heat on medium and add onions. Cook onions until slightly brown and softened. Add tomato paste. Mix and cook for 1 minute more. Mix the tomato mixture in with the lentils and bulgar. Place the tomato-lentil mixture in a bowl and refrigerate until cool (we put the mix in the freezer for about 15 minutes and then the fridge for half an hour).

1/3 bunch curly leaf parsley (finely chopped)

2 green onions (finely chopped)

1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)

Juice from 1/2 a lemon (plus more to taste)

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp paprika

Cayenne pepper or hot pepper flakes to taste

Green or red leaf lettuce (or other favorite variety, washed)

When the lentil mixture has cooled, add parsley, green onions, lemon juice, and spices. Mix well. The mixture should have reached a consistency conducive to making patties. If the mix is too dry, add more olive oil. Also, this is a good time to taste and add any spices or more lemon juice if desired. Form small patties by hand. Serve with fresh lettuce leaves (use the lettuce like pita). 

Enjoy!