Vospov Kofte (Red Lentil Kofte)

6 months ago

last modified: 6 months ago

I watched Vospov Kofte on ATK today

and when I searched for this video online, I found many variations of this recipe. The ATK recipe is not my favorite, and I don't know which one I want to make, but this dish intrigues me because I have a lot of red lentils, not to mention Bulgar, and this looks like a quick and easy dish to make. I may have to substitute celery leaves for parsley, however. I hate the way this guy begins almost every sentence with "So..." and therefore I mute the sound and turn on subtitles.

Do you have a favorite way of making this? I am particularly interested in recipes that use red lentils and Bulgar.

Featured Answer

Lars
Original Author

6 months ago

last modified: 6 months ago

I made the lentil kofte yesterday and liked it a lot, but it was also a lot more filling than I expected. I did not have parsley, and so I added some minced celery to the onion that I sautéed. I used tomato paste and red pepper paste, which are missing in the Armenian version from ATK, and they added a lot of flavor.

Here's the composite recipe, which combines Armenian with Turkish versions:

1 cup red lentils
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buckwheat*, or fine bulgar
1-1/2 tablespoon oil, for frying (I used avocado oil)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 celery rib, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (I prefer less in this case)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander, optional
1 large garlic clove, minced, optional (I did not use this but might in the future)
1 rounded tablespoon tomato paste
1 rounded tablespoon sweet red pepper paste (from Syria or Turkey)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Serving: Lettuce leaves (I used Romaine), sumac (optional), lemon juice

• Rinse the lentils, transfer them to a pot. Add the water and salt, let them boil for 20-25 minutes on medium heat, covered loosely. Stir every few minutes.

• When the lentils are cooked, remove from heat. Open the lid and cool for 5 minutes.

• Put the buckwheat in a blender (Vitamix dry ingredient container) and process until it has the texture of sesame seeds. This is not necessary if you are using fine bulgar wheat.

• Add the buckwheat to the cooled lentils and mix; close the lid and wait for 10-15 minutes.

• While the buckwheat absorbing water, pour 1½ tablespoon oil into a nonstick frying pan on high heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt in a pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the celery, Aleppo pepper, black pepper, cumin, coriander, and garlic (if using) and sauté for 3-4 minutes more. Add the tomato and pepper pastes, cook them 3-4 minutes and turn the heat off.

• When buckwheat-lentil mixture and onion mixture have cooled, mix them together in a medium-large bowl. Add 1/3 cup olive oil and knead again.

• Add scallions and parsley and knead until all ingredients are mixed well. You can chill the dough in the fridge for half an hour at this point.

• For the traditional serving, shape 1/4 cup portions into cylinders about 3” long and one inch diameter. To shape more easily, wet your hands time to time.

• Serve your lentil kofte in lettuce leaves and sprinkle with sumac or lemon juice. I cut Romaine lettuce leaves in half, to fit the kofte better.

*Note: I thought I had bulgar wheat, but it was Bulgarian buckwheat instead, and so I had to process it in my Vitamix to get it to the right texture. I think it was a perfectly acceptable substitute for bulgar wheat.

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Comments (14)

laceyvail 6A, WV
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
Lars, that recipe looks wonderful! I'm not a vegetarian, but I make a lot of vegetarian dishes and have friends/relatives who are vegetarians. It looks to me like the finished kofte rolls would freeze well. What do you think?

And also wondering if ghee would work in place of the butter for a couple of friends who can't tolerate the lactose in butter.
Lars thanked laceyvail 6A, WV
agmss15
6 months ago
That looks delicious. I am also not a vegetarian but I eat meat only a few times a month. Lately I have been exploring whole grain/bean or lentil dishes. Partly to figure out how to use a large amount of barley I was gifted. Partly because the cooler weather calls for more filling dishes.

I have made red lentil tortillas and lentil bulgar burgers. Off to check this dish out.
Lars thanked agmss15
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agmss15
6 months ago
I like Refika’s videos. I am going to try this. Thanks @lars

https://youtu.be/O02HGxF22QE?si=CBZnL-bwrr8g3F9_
Lars thanked agmss15
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
That looks interesting - I really like red lentils - for soup, tho. I make a red lentil barley soup using onions, celery and winter squash chunks, seasoned with curry powder.

The bulgur I buy isn't that white either - I guess it's whole wheat. I make tabouleh with it - that needs lots of fresh parsley and mint.

And ATK recipes always seem too elaborate for me - I also don't like their gated access to recipes.

FWIW, I don't think I'd sub celery leaves for parsley - totally different and much, much stronger flavor. A little bit of grated carrot might work, tho, flavorwise.
Lars thanked carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
laceyvail 6A, WV
6 months ago
Re Rafika's video which looks more interesting in flavors than the ATK one. When she calls for pepper paste, does she mean Harrissa?
Lars thanked laceyvail 6A, WV
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
6 months ago
No judgement but ATK is always under spiced for our taste. 2-3 meals a week are vegetarian/vegan, but we need spices and not salt and fats. And not spicy at all.

Cumin, coriander, fennel, celery, sumac, --seeds, -toasted sesame, pepitas, sunflower, etc.

Refika's girlfriend is vegetarian so i follow her for the vegan options but spiced more to our taste....
Lars thanked sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
Lars
Original Author
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
I did watch some of Refika's videos yesterday after I watched the ATK video.

She put cinnamon and clove in one of her versions (but I think it was falafel), but I will be leaving those out. I do like cumin, coriander, celery seeds, and sumac, and so I will try some variations of those.

agmss15, How do you make red lentil tortillas? I assume that you add some flour. I watched Pati Jinich make some tortillas the other day (Season 12 in Yucatán) using both masa and flour, plus water and no fat. She used 2½ cups of masa and 1/4 cup of flour plus 2½ cups of water and 1/4 tsp salt to make 14 tortillas. She then fried the raw tortillas on one side, pouring hot oil over the tops to help flatten them out and cook the tops. She used these to make what looked like tostadas.

I one of Pati's cookbooks, and I make a lot of her recipes, but then she makes a lot of things that I have already been making.

laceyvail 6A, WV, The pepper paste is just puréed red bell pepper (or perhaps pimento). As for freezing the kofta - I think they might fall apart after being frozen. You could freeze the lentil/Bulgar in a mass and then make the kofta after you defrost it. It's so easy to make that I would just make small batches when I want it.
laceyvail 6A, WV
6 months ago
Hmm,. I wonder how some harissa would be in the kofte.
Lars thanked laceyvail 6A, WV
Islay Corbel
6 months ago
A tasty addition! Give it a go.
Lars thanked Islay Corbel
agmss15
6 months ago
@lars No flour. Basically lentils water and salt. Lots of options on youtube. I made them for a non-gluten eating friend. I liked them enough to make them again. That said I like flour and corn tortillas better.
Lars thanked agmss15
l pinkmountain
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
I'm going to try this. Have everything but I will have to blend up the bulgur to get it fine enough, I can't get the fine stuff locally and I already have a lot of bulgur. A good use for my home made harissa paste which has the peppers and the tomato and all the spices.

Thanks for sharing this Lars. The only kofta I ever knew about before was the meat kind. I made it once, with ground lamb which is rare and dear to find around here . . .
Lars thanked l pinkmountain
Lars
Original Author
6 months ago
I'm going to try making this tomorrow.

The pepper paste I have in my pantry is from a Lebanese/Syrian market and was made in Turkey. It is not hot like Harissa, but I will add a bit of Aleppo pepper to spice it up a bit.

I looked on Youtube for a lentil tortilla recipe and found this:

It looks very much like a crêpe, and this is not what I was expecting. I needed to see someone cook this to know how to make it.
l pinkmountain
6 months ago
Yeah, I have chickpea flour languishing in my fridge that I had thought I might use for something like that . . . I also have aleppo pepper. I like it, but it is hot, too hot for me to use more than a pinch. I tend to use the cayenne, it is a bit more forgiving if I overdo it.
Lars thanked l pinkmountain

Vospov Kofte (Red Lentil Kofte)

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