Çiğ Köfte

Name: Çiğ Köfte
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 80 g fine bulgur; 120 ml water; 40 g onion; 1 clove garlic; 1.5 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste; 1 tsp tomato paste; 1 tsp isot pepper flakes; 0.5 tsp ground cumin; 0.5 tsp salt; 0.25 tsp black pepper; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp pomegranate molasses; 10 g flat-leaf parsley; 1 spring onion; 0.5 lemon; 4 baby gem lettuce leaves

The meatless Turkish and Armenian classic from the southeast: fine bulgur swollen in hot water, then kneaded at length with grated onion, garlic, red pepper paste and isot until it turns smooth, dark and glossy. Squeezed into finger shapes in the fist and eaten cold, wrapped in lettuce with lemon and pomegranate molasses.

Lunch & dinner Vegan 8g+ fibre

55 min25 prep · 30 cookMedium501 kcalper serving

Method

Put 80 g of fine bulgur in a wide bowl, pour over 120 ml of just-boiled water, stir once and cover with a plate. Leave 30 minutes: the grain should drink all the water, swell soft and cool to warm-not-hot before you touch it.
Grate 40 g of onion on the fine side of a box grater and squeeze out most of its juice between your fingers — too much liquid keeps the köfte from binding. Crush 1 clove of garlic to a paste with a pinch of the salt.
Add the onion and garlic to the swollen bulgur with 1.5 tbsp of red pepper paste, 1 tsp of tomato paste, 1 tsp of isot pepper flakes, 0.5 tsp of ground cumin, 0.5 tsp of salt and 0.25 tsp of black pepper.