The Joys of Bulgur or Burgul or Cracked Wheat…

So in the course of leaving nothing to eat in our house, I mean using up chametz ingredients 🙂 I discovered that I’d purchased 4 packages of bulgur.  You know how you think you have none left and toss one more package into your cart?  Well, I did it 4 times, count ’em.  Sigh.

No matter, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with the stuff and me and DH eat it all the time.  It cooks in about half the time that brown rice does i.e. 20 or so minutes, is a whole grain and filling and yumola.  I used to eschew it since the recipes I used wanted me to pour boiling water over the bulgur and let it sit.  It was too dense and chewy for me and I felt like it sat like lead in my tummy – not cool.

I experimented with it and also found my SIL Suzy didn’t prepare it that way and tried boiling it like rice.  Eureka!  It fluffs up and double or even triples in volume and all you need to know is how to prepare it properly with water and grain proportions measured.

Really, don’t cheat and measure by eye, use a measuring cup because here proportions really matter.

Basic Bulgur Recipe

1 cup uncooked bulgur

2 1/4 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons mild olive oil

2 heaping teaspoons chicken flavored soup mix powder (I use the pareve, nonmeat kind)

Bring water to boil in pot add soup mix and oil.  Slowly add bulgur and mix well till it comes back to the boil.  Lower the heat till barely simmering and cover pot.  Cook on very low heat for 20-25 minutes, stir once or twice during cooking.  Put this on a timer, you don’t want to overcook it.  When it rings, turn off the heat and don’t open the pot lid.  Let it steam for a bit longer, at least 5 minutes.  Remove lid, gently stir, fluff.

At this point, you can serve it like a grain and served hot it is also yummy.  Just taste a bit to see if it needs salt.  However, I love it as a salad.  If you wish to go that direction, then you add:

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh is best but those squeeze bottles are ok) You determine how lemony you like it.

2 tablespoons olive oil (I personally am sensitive to the potential bitterness some olive oils have and pick the ones I buy carefully.  I’ve actually tossed a few they were so bitter.  So, if you think your not a big fan of olive oil, try a few types and brands and go milder to see if that’s what you didn’t care for).

Stir this together and taste a bit to see if it needs salt.  The soup mix has plenty so you may not need any.

Then, I add parsley and I say this without a smidgen of shame, I use those wonderful frozen squares or oblongs of fresh frozen parsley that have made my life so much easier.  I used to be a real purist and yeah, I know truly fresh tastes better but I have happily matured enough to see this is a HUGE timesaver.  They are cleaned, chopped and raring to go.  Love, love love.  (I also use the pre-chopped garlic, shhh).

Personally, I like to see the bulgur salad turn a bit green (not with envy 😉 ).  You can stop right here or add:

2 ripe red tomatoes chopped (make sure you catch every bit of the tomato’s juice, it adds tremendously to the flavor of the salad)

It may unbalance the lemoniness so check again for lemon and salty taste.

and if you like:

1 peeled chopped cucumber (I almost never peel them but in this salad, I prefer the texture of peeled) Please note my beloved slicer/dicer pictured here.  It produces beautifully chopped veggies in either tiny Israeli salad style or somewhat larger chunks.  As a regular salad, I call it confetti salad. Add olive oil and salt and boom you’re done.  It’s perfect for the chopped tomato and cucumber for the burgul salad.  Simplify your life!

You can also skip the veggies and add dried cranberries and candied pecans for a totally different flavor.

This is pretty served on lettuce leaves or in a lovely glass bowl so you can see the pretty colors.