KÖFTES de PRASA – Leek patties

Everywhere, and in every cookbook, and on every Sephardic table, we find “köftes de prasa,” leek patties. “What makes this dish Sephardic?” I ask my Istanbul informants. “Turks don’t eat this.,” they say. “However, when they try it, they fall in love.”

The original recipe contains meat, but I am including the vegetarian option, which substitutes the meat with potatoes or cooked red lentils. Serve with a nice side dish of “cacik,” yogurt and cucumber dip, and everyone will be happy.

Here is Selin’s recipe:

Ingredients:

1.5 kg. leeks
¼ lb. of cooked and mashed potato or cooked red lentils
4 eggs
Salt, pepper

Preparation
1. Peel the leeks and wash them well, especially between layers.

2. Chop and boil them until they are very soft. After they are boiled press them between your palms as hard as you can to get all the water out This is very important in order to make the patties firm.

3. Now put the leeks into the food processor and blend to a soft paste.

4. Mix together the soft leek paste, mashed potato or cooked red lentils, 2 egg yolks, salt and pepper.

5. Shape into little round flat cakes of about 3 inches (4-5 cm) wide.