Because I somehow wound up with four aprons in my possesion after bridal showers and wedding gifts, I decided to don one of the four and embrace learning to cook. Starting out simple, I threw together a quick tabouleh salad last night. I figured I needed to eat/make something beside cupcakes, and a fresh, spring herb salad fit the bill. Also, if this counts as cooking then I am ok with it.
I followed a simple recipe, using bulgur for the grain. I haven’t cooked much using bulgur, so it was a bit of an experiement this time around.
Near as I can tell, the best way to soak the grain is covering it with hot water for about 20-30 minutes. Somebody tell me if there is a better method–the brand of bulgur I bought had instructions to boil water, throw it on the grain, and soak for an hour…but I just didn’t have time for that.
Regardless, the idea is to soak the bulgur until it has softened but still chewy. I used 1/2 cup of bulgur and 3/4 cup of hot water.
While the bulgur soaked, I chopped up 1 cup’s worth of parsley. Make sure to wash it first, but dry it thoroughly or you will just end up with a soggy pile of green when you chop it.
I also chopped up 3/4 cup’s worth of fresh mint…maybe closer to a whole cup, as I just really love fresh mint! Put that aside and grab about 12 cherry tomatoes and slice them in half.
Throw in two tablespoons of olive oil & 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice to your bulgur, then add your greens and tomato, and toss it all together in a bowl. I then peppered to taste and mixed in a bit of sea salt, also to taste. That’s it. Easy and quick to make–my kind of cooking.
Fresh, colorful, and tasty. My one regret is that I didn’t have a cucumber to chop up into the mix. Any thoughts you want to send my way on a better recipe?
1/2 cup bulgur
3/4 cup water
1 cup chopped parsley
3/4 cup chopped mint
12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
sea salt & pepper
Cheers, til next time.
Artful | Hopeful 