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–+ servings

Turkish Lentil Balls (Mercimek Koftesi)

These lentil balls are an easy, economical, and nutritious recipe to celebrate spring
produce! The original recipe uses fine bulgur as the binder, but this recipe instead is
modified to substitute quinoa to make it gluten free.
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Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Turkish
Keyword: Easy, Vegan
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 745kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 cup red lentils
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 6 cups water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup EVOO
  • 6 scallions, sliced, whites and greens separated
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp red pepper paste, or Turkish red pepper paste
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp crushed red pepper, or Aleppo
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper and salt
  • 1 bunch of Italian parsley, chopped
  • 2 lemons, zested
  • sumac, optional

Instructions

  • Rinse lentils and quinoa, then add to pot with water and salt. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Lentils should be very tender and falling apart; quinoa should be tender. There should be no cooking liquid left. Set aside.
  • In a small sauce pot, heat EVOO. Once hot, add green onion whites. Saute for 5 minutes.
  • Add tomato paste and pepper paste. Saute for 1 minute.
  • Turn heat off and add cumin, red and black pepper, and salt.
  • In a large bowl, add: lentil-quinoa mix, pepper oil, and parsley-scallion greens, and lemon zest. Also add in your tomato paste mixture. Mix well.
  • Form into balls, and serve with a squeeze of zested lemons on a bed of arugula, and garnished with matchstick radish and sumac.

Nutrition

Calories: 745kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Sodium: 358mg | Potassium: 1319mg | Fiber: 33g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 503IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 10mg