Red lentil patties: packed with iron and perfect for summer

Posted by

Başak

October 10, 2024

On July 27, 2020

Preparation: 10 mins

Soaking: 2 h

Cooking: 15 mins

Cooling: 1 h

Difficulty: easy

Yields: 4 portions

Cost: low

If you want to go straight to the recipe click here

Turkish red lentil patties: accidentally vegan, delish for everyone

Turkish red lentil patties are the best choice for a hot summer day, but they are more than a refreshing yummy meal, let’s discover them deeply
Those who want to reduce meat consumption find an important ally in the world of legumes. And red lentils really offer an excellent alternative for both protein levels and iron, as well as the long satiety that they provide.
Even if they contain high levels of carbohydrates you don’t have to worry about the excess kilos, because they are complex carbohydrates and most of them belong to the category of resistant starch, which is why their digestion takes place more slowly. This characteristic ranks them among the sources of carbohydrates with reduced glycemic load: in other words, they cause fewer glycemic peaks and, similarly, the stomach empties itself in more time (it is said that resistant starch prolongs the sense of satiety up to 50% more), thus reducing the feared attacks of hunger, enemies of a balanced diet. They also help improving cardiovascular health, as red lentils are able to reduce bad LDL cholesterol.

Wonderful food then, and to be enjoyed all year long; unfortunately, when it is summer, not everyone can appreciate the idea of legumes, especially if the thermometer marks 30 and more degrees: indeed, in the collective imagination legumes are mistakenly associated with winter.

If you are part of this group of people, the recipe I am proposing today is just right for you.
These Turkish red lentil patties are eaten cold, accompanied by a delicious and refreshing salad which is prepared with seasonal vegetables. And if you have any leftover, you can keep them in the fridge to eat for lunch the next day; by the seaside or at work. Moreover, they are rich in nutrients; very cheap, easy to prepare and their production – when of national origin – is absolutely ethical and solidarity–based, which makes them even more tasty.

Ingredients for delicious Turkish red lentil patties

for red lentil patties

1 cup of red lentils, dried
2 cups of vegetable broth or water
1/3 cup of fine bulgur better if whole-wheat
2 tbsp of concentrated tomato paste or a dense tomato sauce prepared with 3 big and ripe tomatoes
1 onion, chopped finely
2-3 green onion, chopped finely
5 tbsp of parsley, chopped finely
3 tbsp of extravergine olive oil
½ tsp of cumin powder
½ tsp of chili powder
salt and pepper
For typical “Gavurdagi” salad
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into small cubes
1 hot pepper (better chilli), cut into slices
1 small onion, diced
1 small garlic, crushed
1 cucumber, diced
2 nuts, roughly chopped
7-8 sprigs of rocket or parsley or mint
½ lemon juice
1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses (optional: but if you ever try it it will stop being “optional”)
1-2 tablespoons of extravirgin olive oil

Directions for Turkish red lentil patties

Step 1. Wash the lentils until the drain water is clear. Let them soak for about 2 hours; rinse them and put them to cook in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of vegetable stock or water. After about 10 minutes check if they have absorbed all the water: if so, add another half cup.

Step 2. When they are cooked, turn off the heat and add the bulgur, salt and cumin to the lentils. Stir evenly and leave the mixture to cool: it will take about 1-2 hours to cool completely.

Step 3. In the meantime, pour the oil into a saucepan and turn the diced onions to brown (green onions are to use raw at the end of the recipe); when they begin to soften, add the diced tomato: in order to obtain all the lycopene contained in the “red gold”, I recommend that you do not peel or remove the seeds.

For those who do a lot of physical activity, so do not fear extra calories, I must say that the red lentil patties seasoned “generously” with olive oil become even more tasty.

Extra tip for who wants to avoid gluten

You can replace the fine bulgur of this recipe, with the same quantity of quinoa or millet: the final texture would be very similar, but more proteic and of course without gluten. But please double check that the red lentils and quinoa / millet that you have do not contain trace gluten

Step 4. The golden browning and therefore cooking of onions must take place on low heat, for about 5 minutes but making a perfect tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes would require at least 20 minutes. Leave this tomato sauce to cool for 1o mins and then add it to the lentil and bulgur mixture. The consistency must be compact, but not to be cut with a knife; if you think it is too liquid, add two more tablespoons of fine bulgur (after letting it puff for 10 minutes with a little hot water).

Step 5. Finally, cut the parsley and green onions finely and pour it over the mixture; knead everything together well and then using your hands (or two spoons) start forming the patties.

Smart combos

Once the red lentil patties are ready, serve them together with the Gavurdagi salad which is rich in tasty summer vegetables: it is reminiscent both in color and size of another very popular salad (even if from overseas), the Pico de Gallo.

Gavurdagi salad is very popular among Turks and is normally used to accompany various types of kebap.
But we want to use it because it is delicious, ideal for summer and easy to prepare; above all it has a specific peculiarity: being very rich in Vitamin C and carotene*, it allows to assimilate a large part of the iron contained in lentils, reducing the chelating effect of absorption antagonists.

Preparing it very easy, you need to cut tomatoes, onion, cucumber, green peppers, parsley or mint into small cubes, and season them with a generous lemon juice, 2 walnuts, extravergine olive oil and pomegranate molasses.

The pomegranate molasses, which is one of the “cult” ingredients of Turkish gastronomy, can be difficult to find. A friend of mine, who is also a famous Italian chef one day confessed me that he founds it in some cases even better than l‘Aceto Balsamico di Modena. And in the country of pomegranates they use it in the same way of balsamic vinegar: over salads, grilled vegetables, plates prepared with bulgur and grilled meatless meatballs or burgers.

In the end we should have a juicy salad which has a favor with character; should be juicy enough to dip our red lentil patties inside. Therefore serve them in individual bowls in order to avoid discussions and jealousies among participants.
Good revolution to all and enjoy your Turkish red lentil patties

Bibliography
(*) : Teucher B, Olivares M, Cori H. (2004). Enhancers of iron absorption: ascorbic acid and other organic acids. International Journal of Vitamin and Nutrition Research 74(6):403-419.