Vegan Kibbeh: İçli Köfte Two Shapes

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Being vegan doesn’t have to be boring or missing out on delicious food because you choose not to eat meat and its by-products. This vegan kibbeh or içli köfte, in Turkish, will be the solution. Psst, these are so good even flexitarians might prefer to have the vegan version from now on.

Vegan bulgur shell ingredients

• Fine bulgur is the major ingredient. The finer the better.
• Semolina will give a bit of crunchiness.
  • These two need to be soaked in measured and boiling water. Keep covered and let sit for about 10 minutes.
• The flour will help the ingredients blend together.
• The potato will replace the usual egg.
  • Make sure the potato is well boiled and grated.
• The spices are salt, black pepper, paprika and cumin.
• Mix and knead with your hands until you obtain a homogenous and sticky dough.
• If the mixture is stiff feel free to add about 50 millilitres more water gradually.
• If the mixture is too soft you can add some more semolina.
• Do not forget to taste before starting to shape. If bland add more salt and/or paprika.

How to shape the vegan kibbeh?

To give the traditional shape please see the following pictures and also check my blog post about Turkish İçli Köfte: Stuffed Bulgur Shells.

To make things easier you can also serve kibbeh aka içli köfte in layers and not ball-shaped and bake in the oven. When shaped in layers, this meze is called sini köftesi or sini oruğu in Turkish.

• Use a square glass oven dish with a size of 20×20 centimetres (8×8 inches) or similar.
• Cover the dish with kitchen stretch foil.
• Start with placing half of the bulgur mixture into the dish and press down to make the layer flat and firm.
• Then take out the first layer together with the stretch folio and move on to the next step.
• Place the remaining bulgur mixture to the oven dish again, this time without the stretch folio. Press it down to make it flat and firm.
• Follow the recipe card below to prepare the filling.
• Next, pour and spread evenly the vegan filling on top.
• And finally, flip over on top the bulgur mixture pressed and set aside in the beginning. Remove the stretch foil.
• Drizzle some olive oil on top.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180° Celsius (350° F) until golden brown on the top and bottom, for about half an hour.

How to serve vegan kibbeh?

Drizzle with pomegranate sauce and serve with lemon wedges and parsley stalks or lettuce leaves. You can serve them at tea time or as a side during a meal.

Hope you’ve liked this recipe. If so you might also want to check my Turkish Spicy Vegan Balls – Çiğ Köfte recipe.

Print Pin

Vegan Kibbeh – İçli Köfte

Can be prepared ball shaped and fried or boiled or prepared in layers for baking.

Course Appetizer, tea time

Cuisine Levantine

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Resting time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 9 pieces

Calories 175kcal

Ingredients

Bulgur Layer

• 200 grams fine bulgur
• 50 grams semolina
• 250 mililitres boiling water
• 50 grams flour
• 1 potato around 150 grams
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon cumin

Vegan Filling

• 1 cup green lentils
• 1 onion
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 50 grams walnuts
• ½  teaspoon  salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 100 grams spinach

Instructions

Bulgur layer

• Boil a potato and mash or grate, set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl mix the semolina and the bulgur. Add 250 millilitres of boiling water. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes. Add the flour, mashed potato, the tomato paste and all the spices. Knead for about 10 minutes. If necessary add more water to ease the kneading.

Vegan filling

• Rinse the green lentils. Cover with water and boil until edible in a sauce pan.
• When lentils are done rinse under flowing water.
• Meanwhile, add the olive oil in a sauce pan and heat slightly.
• Add a well chopped or grated onion. You can use a food processor if available.
• Cook until the onions are translucent. Also add crushed and minced garlic cloves.
• Add the tomato paste and all the spices in the filling ingredients. Mix until combined and remove from heat.
• Also, add the cooked lentils and mix to combine.
• Add chopped spinach and mix. Spinach does not need to be cooked. The filling is ready.
• Finally, chop or use a food processor to chop the walnuts. Add the walnuts to the filling mixture, mix well. Set aside to cool.

Preparing the layers

• Use a 20x20cm baking dish. Cover with a kitchen stretch foil.
• On top add half of the bulgur mixture. Press down with your hands or back of a glass or use a too. Make the layer flat, even and stiff. Wet your hands or your tool to mend any craks.
• Then remove this layer together with the strectch foil and set aside.
• Grease the baking dish with olive oil.
• Then without a stretch foil add the remaining bulgur mixture and make it a flat, even and stiff layer.
• Then add the middle layer with the lentil and spinach mixture.
• Finally, on the very top flip over the bulgur layer you had set aside with the stretch foil. Remove and discard the stretch foil.
• Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cut to 9 pieces.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180° Celsius (350° F) for about 45 minutes. Until top and bottom turns golden brown.
• Let rest for 5 minutes after removing from the oven. Drizlze with pomegranate sauce and serve with lemon wedges, lettuce leaves and parsley.

Notes

You can substitute tomato paste with pepper paste.

You can keep in the fridge once cooked for up to 3 days. 

Another vegan filling option can be mushrooms. 

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