Recipe of the Week: Red Lentil Koftas

Ah, a Turkish dish! And this dish was (is) delish! I say IS because this recipe makes for quite a huge batch and since it's only me eating it, I guess it's dinner for the next week. Which is just fine, I don't always feel like cooking or preparing much when I get home - which is why there haven't been too many recipes of the week this summer - I find myself just eating salads and those are boring to post here or eating frozen fruit because it's been so hot since I got back from vacation and who wants to labor over a hot stove? Not I. I've barely been able to muster the strength to chop wood and carry water, let alone chop veggies and boil water.

So, I've been meaning to try my hand at this for over a year - I had something similar at a restaurant in Astoria (where they were called Red Sonjas and yes I mainly wanted to make them based on the cool name) but also because they are quite yummy. So click HERE for the recipe I used - with a few alterations because I wanted that Emerilish BAM! factor. I used a whole can of tomato paste, a spoonful of hot sauce and I upped the fresh spices - I used a ton of fresh mint, not a teaspoon of dried, I used almost all the fresh parsley and dill I bought as well - and I think that it benefits from being made ahead of time - the next day, it was totally BAMMING!! One thing I would do differently is cook the lentils in some stock so that they are saved from being boring - I just added some chicken bouillon at the end instead of seasoning with salt.

When it's all cooked and cooled, you just form them into little balls and put them in the lettuce leaf, wrap it up like a taco or dumpling, et voila, you've got yourself a tasty Turkish delight. Enjoy!