Traditional Turkish Vegan Meatballs | Cig Kofte Recipe

This raw vegan meatballs dish is a Turkish classic (Çiğ köfte) and has been around for hundreds (if not thousands?) of years! If you're skeptical, I get it. I'm not a huge fan of raw cuisine either. But hear me out—this dish is adored by an entire nation, and I promise you will no longer think about the fact that it's raw the second you taste it. Made with bulgur, tomatoes, onions, many spices, and made possible by patience. This dish is also the most popular recipe on my website so rest assured, it is very tasty! Want to make this dish whole-food-plant-based? You can skip the olive oil and reduce the amount of salt! Hope you enjoy it! :) PS: Does anyone else remember the “Raw. Vegan. Not Gross” series on Tastemade? Çiğ köfte totally deserved a spot on that show. Kindly asking the lovely Laura Miller to please come back and deliver this important message in that stunning voice. _________________________________________________________________________________ INGREDIENTS 4 cups very fine bulgur (the dark variety called simit is best) 1.5 cups ripe tomatoes, grated (about 3 medium) 2 medium onions, grated 3 garlic cloves, finely diced 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/3 cup pomegranate molasses 1 tablespoon tomato paste 2 tablespoon red pepper paste (spicy or regular) 1/3 cup Urfa pepper flakes 1/3 cup sweet paprika 1 tbsp Aleppo pepper flakes 1 tbsp sumac 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt (gradually add more if desired) 3-5 ice cubes for kneading Garnish: fresh Italian parsley and pickles For serving: Romaine lettuce leaves and sliced lemon (or wheat tortilla instead of/in addition to the lettuce as is often served in Turkey for all you carb lovers out there) More details about the recipe on - https://aegeandelight.com/vegan-meatb... _________________________________________________________________________________ For More plant-based Mediterranean recipes, visit https://aegeandelight.com/ _________________________________________________________________________________ Instagram - @aegeandelight _________________________________________________________________________________ with love, Gönül