Cooking:  approx. 30  minutes

Serves:  approx. 4

Ingredients:

• 40g butter
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 large tsp of ground cumin
• 1 cup of red lentils (pre-soaked overnight or for about 8 hours)
• 150-250ml of home made vegetable stock  or bone stock (or filtered water).  Start with 150ml and add more liquid as needed.
• 1/2 cup almond or sunflower meal (make your own in a high speed blender – see below)
• 2 Tbsp fresh mint leaves
• good pinch of sea salt & freshly ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp dulse flakes
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 100ml of extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil
• 1 baby cos lettuce, washed.
• fresh mint, finely chopped to serve.

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a  saucepan, add the onion, tomato paste, salt and cumin and gently cook over a medium heat for 2 – 3 minutes and until the onion softens.
2. Add the lentils and stock or water and bring to the boil.
3. When at the boil, lower the heat and gently simmer until the lentils are cooked through e.g. 20 – 25 minutes.
4. Stir in the nut or seed meal, gently cook for a couple of minutes more and allow to thicken & lightly cool.
5. Stir in half the lemon juice and 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
6. Mix the remaining lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil to serve as a dressing.
7. Take the cooled mixture and create small pattie sized koftas & place each one into a cos lettuce ‘cup’.
8. Arrange the kofte ‘cups’ onto a plate or platter and serve with a drizzle of the olive oil and lemon dressing.
9. Enjoy!