Eating a slice of whole-wheat bread is not the only way to get whole grains into your diet. Bulgur, a staple in Middle Eastern cookery, is a very wholesome alternative with a pleasing nutty flavor and light texture. It's a fantastic foundation for salads; tabouleh, in fact, is perhaps the most famous of all bulgur salads. Loaded with parsley and laced with olive oil and lemon juice, the bulgur, however, takes a back seat to the other ingredients. Not so in this salad which I adapted from a recipe I recently found in the New York Times "Recipes for Health" column. I like the addition of lentils for even greater nutritional value.
1 cup green lentils
1 small onion, cut in half
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed slightly
1 bay leaf
Sea salt, to taste
1 cup fine or medium bulgur
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 cup chopped parsley
4 T chopped fresh mint
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 t toasted cumin seeds, ground
2 T capers
1/2 cup olive oil
Combine the lentils, onion, garlic, salt, and bay leaf in a saucepan. Cover with water by a couple of inches. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, until lentils are tender but not mushy. When done, drain and discard the onion, bay leaf and garlic.Meanwhile, put the bulgur in a medium bowl with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover with boiling water and let stand 25 minutes until most of the water is absorbed. Drain through a mesh strainer and squeeze out the excess water. In a large bowl, gently toss together the cooked lentils, bulgur, scallions, celery, parsley, mint, lemon juice, cumin, capers, and olive oil.
*This is easy to pack for a brown bag lunch to take to school or work.
*Top with crumbled feta to add a serving of protein.
No comments:
Post a Comment