fall session: bulgur

If any grain seems "hippy-ish" to me, it is bulgur.  Before my grain series I had dabbled in some but NEVER cooked bulgur.  I am happy to report, bulgur is really very tasty and an easy way to get some protein and fiber in your diet.

Bulgur closely resembles couscous.  However, bulgur is the product of wheat kernels that have been boiled, dried, and crushed while couscous is made from rolling moistened coarsely ground semolina wheat into small balls, which are later coated with a finely ground wheat flour.  Bulgur is healthier than couscous as it has 4 times the fiber and has lower calorie and carbohydrate counts. 

Bulgur comes in several grades of coarseness: fine bulgur for more delicate salads, coarser bulgur for stews and soups.   Since bulgur does not take too long to cook, many recipes have you add it into the dish to cook.  If you are making a salad from it, here is an easy way to cook it.

How to Steam Bulgur:

• Put 2 Cups water in a pot with a generous pinch of salt.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add 1 Cup bulgur, stir, remove from heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes.  

This works for medium bulgur, so if using a fine grade, let sit for less time.  You can always drain off any excess water.  

We made a delicious kale tabbouleh:

Kale Tabbouleh by The Family Table

Then we cooked a Chicken, Chickpea, Apricot and Bulgur Tagine, inspired by Mark Bittman.  This is a great weekday entree as it takes under an hour to prepare: you sautee the chicken, deglaze the pan, add all the other ingredients and then let simmer for about 30-40 minutes.  I added carrots and fennel to the recipe.

NEED A FINISHED PICTURE HERE

Chickpea Tagine with Chicken and Apricots by The Family Table

Here are a couple more bulgur recipes, untested, that I hope to try soon:

An eggplant, lentil and bulgur salad


A bulgur recipe from my favorite blog 101cookbooks.  This would make a great salad for a holiday lunch buffet, so colorful.