Lentil Patties

I must have made too much cake lately. All of a sudden, the ingredients for the lentil patties I was preparing for dinner looked so refreshingly beautiful to me that I just had to take some pictures. Of course, I could not capture the colors in their real beauty, but these pictures are still much livelier than the cake pictures I have been posting lately on La Patisserie Jerrahi. So here they are as the first entry on our new blog for savory dishes.

1 c red lentils
3/4 c fine grain cracked wheat
1 finely chopped onion
1/4 c olive oil
1 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tbs red pepper paste
1 c chopped green onions
1 c chopped parsley
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
salt and red pepper flakes

Cook the lentils in 2 1/2 c water. When the lentils are tender and there is very little liquid left, add the cracked wheat to the pan and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat so that the wheat softens and the mixture cools.

Meanwhile, cook the chopped onion in olive oil until soft and translucent. Stir in the tomato and red pepper pastes. Combine the lentil/wheat mixture, onion mixture and the rest of the ingredients and knead well. Form into patties. Serve with lettuce leaves and more chopped parsley.