Bulgur Pilaf with Fresh Herbs

I want to tell you all about bulgur or cracked wheat. This is my favourite grain and I wonder if you are aware a) how tasty it is and b) how easy it is to cook.  Many Turkish meals are all-in-ones and I love them for that simplicity. But sometimes we do cook meat and add perhaps a salad, and then need something starchy to add body to that meal. In the UK, it would most often be potatoes and I have no objection to that – I love potatoes in all their forms. Sometimes we make pasta or rice. Here, I am suggesting that you try bulgur. I use it a lot.

Go to the supermarket and you will see on the shelves two types of bulgur: köftelik/for koftes or rissoles, which is small-grained, or pilavlık/pilaf type, which is larger. The type that I go for is the second, the pilavlık. It is so much easier to make than rice as it never loses its shape. It is never in danger of becoming mushy. You can make it in advance and reheat  with just a little extra water without risking anything. Additionally, it is most successful in salads.  I think it is quite easily obtainable in the UK now but I do remember going to M&S with my father well within living memory and asking for bulgur. I remember my dad rolling his eyeballs as I asked, and then his mock relief when they were perplexed and admitted they didn’t have it. When my mother died, the task of organising the food  after the funeral was delegated to me. I woke up at about 5 am thinking about the day ahead and worrying about the amount of food we had.  I suddenly had this certainty that I would find a packet of bulgur in the pantry, an unopened, untried packet that I had brought over on one family holiday and if indeed it were there, I could make kısır, a delicious salad made with masses of parsley and lots of lemon juice, tomato, a bit of mint, spring onions, and cucumber which would extend the buffet table.  Sure enough, I was right and that’s exactly what I did. To my mind, that bulgur saved the day.

Here is the recipe for Taze Otlu Bulgur Pilavı or Bulgur with Fresh Herbs from Alev Kaman's Modern Türk Mutfağı:

Ingredients

Serves 8

2 cups large grain bulgur

1 cup boiled green lentils

½ bunch flat-leaf parsley

½ bunch dill

10 spring onions

4 cups hot water

6 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt



adding the chopped herbs to the bulgur



Method

§  Wash and chop the parsley, dill, and spring onions.  Put to one side.

§  Gently heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and add the washed bulgur.  Stir for a few minutes. Add the boiled green lentils and salt and stir to mix.

§  Add the hot water and cover the pan with a lid. Bring to the boil and then cook over gentle heat till all the water has been absorbed and the grains have softened.

§  Remove from the heat and add the fresh herbs . Using a wooden spoon,mix in well.

§  Let the pilaf rest for 15 mins covered before serving.

Tips

1.       If you want to make a salad with bulgur, don’t cook it. Simply wash well, put in a bowl, and cover with boiling water. It will soften up and after being drained well, be ready to use.

2.       An everyday bulgur pilaf can be made by gently sauteing  1 chopped onion in a little olive oil and a knob of butter. Add 1 – 2 cups bulgur  depending on how many people you plan to feed and mix till grains are covered.  Cut 1 big tomato in half and grate both halves into the saucepan. Add 1 chicken stock cube, plus hot water to cover by 2/3. Bring to the boil then cover and lower the heat. Cook till the water has been absorbed. Test a grain or two for doneness. Add more boiling water if necessary.

3.       Yes, I did say grate that tomato! This is an easy way of avoiding peeling it and is a method often found in Turkish cooking, especially with those large Çanakkale tomatoes. Of course you can always chop up 2 smaller toms if you haven’t got a big one.

4.       Very often, after the heat has been turned off, a folded clean tea towel is lain over the pan and the lid put over it. Thus while the pilaf is resting, the steam is absorbed into the towel and the pilaf will be fluffier.

   Enjoy!