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These lentil balls are highly addictive and should make an appearance with every meze spread. It’s the ultimate finger food, bringing an element of play to the experience as you place a single lentil ball on a lettuce leave and drizzle it with fresh lemon juice. They also make a delightful dinner and you can easily keep any leftovers for a couple of days in the fridge.

serves 4

Ingredients

180g red lentils
100 g fine bulgur
1 large onion
50g tomato paste
50g biber salçası (Turkish red pepper paste)
2 tsp ground cumin
4 spring onions
50g parsley
1 tbsp pul biber
2 lemons
little gem lettuce (for serving)

Method

Wash the lentils under cold water, then add them to a saucepan along with 450 ml water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid (slightly ajar so that it doesn’t boil over), then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are soft. Turn off the heat and stir in the bulgur. Then cover again (this time entirely) and leave until cold enough to handle.

In the meantime, peel and finely chop the onion. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and cook on medium heat until softened (5 minutes). Stir in the tomato paste, red pepper paste and cumin. Turn off the heat and set aside.

While the paste is cooling off, trim and finely chop the spring onions. Roughly pick the parsley leaves, removing the thicker stems, and chop as well. Tip the lentils and bulgur into a large mixing bowl. Add the paste, spring onions, parsley, pul biber, the juice of one lemon, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tsp salt and mix everything together.

Use wet hands to shape the mixture into small sausages (around 30g each), squeezing them with your fingers in the end to make the traditional indents.

Separate the lettuce leaves and divide them over a platter. Stack the lentil balls on top, followed by lemon wedges. To eat them, place a lentil ball on a lettuce leaf and drizzle it with extra lemon juice.

Mercimek Köftesi

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Mercimek Köftesi are naturally vegan lentil balls from Turkey that are made with a mix of red lentils and bulgur. They are different from the more common Çiğ Köfte, which are traditionally made with bulgur and raw meat. Nowadays, many Çiğ Köfte recipes tend to swap the meat for lentils, making them more similar to Mercimek Köftesi, although they still differ in their spices and methods.

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Ingredients

180 g red lentils
100 g fine bulgur
1 large onion
50 g tomato paste
50 g biber salçası (Turkish red pepper paste)
2 tsp ground cumin
4 spring onions
50 g parsley
1 tbsp pul biber
2 lemons
little gem lettuce (for serving)

Instructions

Wash the lentils under cold water, then add them to a sauce pan along with 450 ml water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid (slightly ajar so that it doesn’t boil over), then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are soft. Turn off the heat and stir in the bulgur. Then cover again (this time entirely) and leave until cold enough to handle.
In the meantime, peel and finely chop the onion. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and cook on medium heat until softened (5 minutes). Stir in the tomato paste, red pepper paste and cumin. Turn off the heat and set aside.
While the paste is cooling off, trim and finely chop the spring onions. Roughly pick the parsley leaves, removing the thicker stems, and chop as well. Tip the lentils and bulgur into a large mixing bowl. Add the paste, spring onions, parsley, pul biber, the juice of one lemon, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tsp salt and mix everything together.
Use wet hands to shape the mixture into small sausages (around 30g each), squeezing them with your fingers in the end to make the traditional indents.
Separate the lettuce leaves and divide them over a platter. Stack the lentil balls on top, followed by lemon wedges. To eat them, place a lentil ball on a lettuce leaf and drizzle it with extra lemon juice.