Red Split Lentil Rissoles

A great Turkish finger food recipe for your parties. It is made  with red split lentils -a member  of the legume family, bulghur wheat, fresh herbs and spices. Delicious and healty, they are rich in B vitamins, fiber and folate, which help fight heart disease and birth defects. They are also great as vegeterian meals. Split red lentils cook more quickly than other lentils and are definitely the tastiest of them all.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups red split lentils
• 1 1/4 cups fine bulghur wheat
• 750 ml water
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp red pepper paste
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika/flaked red pepper
• salt, to taste
• 1 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp  + 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tbsp water

How To:

In a large saucepan, cover the lentils with 750 ml cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer the lentils until they are very tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the fine bulghur to the lentils, close the lid. Let sit for an hour.

In a medium size skillet, heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until golden and tender, about 6-7 minutes.

Add a tablespoon of water to the skillet, and add the tomato and pepper pastes, stir and cook. Remove from heat, add the cumin, salt, paprika, stir. Add the onion and seasonings mixture to the lentil and bulghur mixture. Mix well. After the mixture cools, add 1 tbsp olive oil, finely chopped spring onions and parsley and knead until all are mixed well.

Shape the mixture into rissoles, making indentations with your fingers. Best on the day made.
Serve the rissoles cold, with lemon juice on the side.

Enjoy!
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