Creamy red lentils are simmered with bulgur wheat, then formed into bite-sized spicy and tangy finger-food in this recipe for Red Lentil Köfte.
Ingredients
1 cup red lentils
1 medium onion, diced small
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes (or more if you'd like it spicier)
1½ teaspoons sea salt (start with this amount and taste for seasoning later)
black pepper, to taste
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
1¼ cup fine bulgur wheat (often labeled as #1)
4 Tablespoons tomato paste
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 scallions, chopped
½ cup chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint or 1 teaspoon dried
Instructions
Pick through your lentils for any foreign debris, rinse and drain them 2-3 times, then set aside.
In a pot over medium-high heat, sauté the chopped onion with 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil for 5 minutes or until they are softened. Add the cumin, paprika, coriander, pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper and sauté the spices for 5-10 seconds. Then add the lentils, water, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook the lentils for 20 minutes.
In the meanwhile, rinse and drain the bulgur wheat. Leave it in the sieve to drain. After 20 minutes, the lentils should be cooked. Stir into them the tomato paste then the drained bulgur wheat. Let the mixture come up to a boil. (It won't really boil because it's so thick, it'll just blob up and down)
Cook covered on low for 5 minutes then turn off the heat, keep covered, and let the bulgur steam for 20 minutes.
After twenty minutes, uncovered the pot, stir the köfte, and taste for doneness of the bulgur. Let this mixture cool down, preferably down to room temperature.
While it's cooling, chopped the parsley and assemble your garnishes. After it has sufficiently cooled, you'll notice that it is now much thicker--that's good. Stir in the lemon juice, olive oil, scallions, parsley, and mint. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
Wet your hands lightly, and form the köfte into little fingers by a placing tablespoon-sized ball in your palm and making a fist with your hand.
Stack the fingers up on a serving plate and garnish with lettuce, tomato, radishes, scallions, parsley, mint, olive oil, and lemon juice.
Notes
-This recipe makes about 35-40 finger-sized köfte.
-Make it as spicy as you'd like by adding more or less red pepper flakes. I like it spicy but the recipe above is rather mild.
Recipe by Lands & Flavors at https://www.landsandflavors.com/red-lentil-kofte/