Bulgur
When I lived in Turkey before, your main course was always accompanied by white rice with pine nuts (pilav – pronounced “pilau”). Nowadays, due to increased prices, white rice is often not available. What the Turks have done instead is substitute it with bulgur pilav, which is not rice at all, but cracked wheat. It is prepared with a tomato sauce and has become one of my favorite parts of the meal. Unfortunately, as in many Asian countries, the bulgur is not always served warm. It’s still tasty cold, but no where’s near so as when served straight off the range. We went to a friend’s house, and she taught us how to make it.
Ingredients:
3 Tblsp. olive oil
1 small onion
1 cup bulgur
Fresh dill (destemmed)
2 Tblsp. red pepper paste or tomato paste
2 -1/4 cups of water
First you chop the onions and begin sautéing them in the olive oil. When the onions are translucent, put in the bulgur and stir, frying the kernels just a little. Then add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and let simmer for about 20 minutes. This recipe serves about four or five.
Delicious!