Vegetarian lentil meatballs 08/01/2025

Do you want to get started in the vegetarian kitchen yourself? With this recipe from one of our students, you can easily create your own flavorful dish. Perfect to serve on a lettuce leaf with a touch of lemon. Time to roll up your sleeves!

Vegetarian lentil meatballs

Recipe for approximately 20 meatballs

INGREDIENTS

• 200g red lentils

• 500g fine bulgur

• 600ml water (add more if needed while kneading)

• 5 spring onions

• 80g fresh parsley

• 1 onion

• 2 lemons

• 1 head of lettuce

• 1 tablespoon Turkish chili paste* and 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• enough salt and black pepper

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 6 tablespoons olive oil

*You can find this in Turkish grocery stores. If unavailable, use 5 tablespoons of tomato paste instead.

RECIPE

1. Wash the vegetables and lentils.

2. Finely chop the onion, spring onions, and parsley.

3. Pour the water into a pot.

4. Add the lentils and cook for about 20 minutes.

5. Turn off the stove.

6. Add the bulgur to the same pot and let it sit for 30 minutes.

7. Heat the olive oil in a separate pan and sauté the chopped onion until it becomes light pink.

8. Add the tomato paste and chili paste, and roast for another 1-2 minutes.

9. Add all the spices, then season with salt and pepper.

10. Finally, add the chopped parsley and spring onions.

11. Knead/mix the ingredients well.

12. Shape the mixture into egg-shaped balls.

13. Place lettuce leaves on a serving plate.

14. Serve with lemon wedges.

This recipe was written by an NT2 student from the course "Write a Newspaper Together!"