I bought some bulgar… last year? Anyway, I’ve just found it in the cupboard. What should I make with it?
Tabouleh, I can take or leave; so I’d rather not make it.
I use it in veggie chili. Soak it in veggie stock first. Sorta kinda looks like ground beef.
After I shut down the computer last night, I was on my way to bed and saw the bag.
Bulgur! :smack:
Spell check didn’t catch it.
Fixed spelling in thread title at OP’s request.
Thanks!
Just got of the phone with a vegetarian friend, and she couldn’t think of anything other than tabouleh or veggie burgers.
I like to use it for a sort of chicken salad. I soak up some of the bulgur, add in leftover rotisserie chicken, chopped onion, some grape tomatoes, mix up a vinaigrette and pour over the whole thing. The last time I also had a couple of ears of boiled corn in the frig so I cut the kernels off and tossed them in too. Made a tasty lunch for a few days.
That sounds pretty good. Coincidentally, I noticed the rotisserie chicken in the market today and remembered I used to like it when I was a kid.
Beard on Bread has a recipe for Maple-Bulgur bread that I like. The bread is fairly soft but the bulgur adds good texture and mouth feel.
I think it’s a great base for a salad that just uses up left-over/odds-and-ends vegetables in your fridge. Off the top of my head I’d say any combination of tomatoes (particularly cherry or grape tomatoes), cucumber, zucchini, scallions, radishes, celery, peppers, and probably a dozen other veggies I’m forgetting would work. Throw in some herbs (parsley, cilantro, a little mint maybe), a little feta or other goat cheese, and finish with a nice citrus/olive oil dressing.
I’ve also had good luck with fruit and poultry combos. Left-over chicken with diced peaches or nectarines and a little feta cheese with the same citrus-oil dressing is a favorite.
I use it in grain based salads, but I cook it in some chicken broth. Nothing fancy, just that horrible yellow powder from the bulk bins, it flavors up the grains a bit.
Johnny, it depends on what grind of buglur you have. Fine is used for tabbouleh, and the coarse or medium is used for a pilaf that gives one a break from the traditional rice pilafs. Here’s a straight forward recipe we use at my house-Mrs. L. is Armenian.
Bulgur Pilaf
2 tbs butter
1 cup bulgur wheat (coarse or medium grain)
2 cups hot chicken broth (vegetable broth or beef broth can be used, depends on the meat it is served with)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 ground pepper
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup pine nuts
Melt the butter in a pot that can be tightly covered. Add the onions and cook over medium heat until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add pine nuts and toast until slightly brown. Add the bulgur and toast for 1 minute. Pour in the broth and salt, pepper, stir, and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Do not remove the lid during this time. After 15 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and set aside, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff the bulgur with a fork, and serve!
I should have come back to this thread first. That last recipe sounds good! I’m out of onions though, and I haven’t seen pine nuts since I munched them as a kid.
I ended up cooking it per the package instructions: boiled in water. I added butter and salt. Still rather bland, so I added some HP Sauce. It was edible. I was thinking I should stop on the way home and get a tomato, garlic, and an onion and sauté them and then add the bulgur. Might try that sometime.
Johnny, it’s the caramelization of the onions and pine nuts that bring the taste to another level. I’ve made it with a caramelized mirepoix of carrots, celery, and onions, with garlic thrown in at the end for a minute, then the diced tomatoes. Garden bulgur pilaf–mmmm!
You could probably also use it to make a poultry stuffing. Stuff loosely though, that stuff expands quite a bit.