The Secret Weapon: Tabbouleh

So I’ve introduced some new dishes into my life now that I’m actually keeping myself on a strict budget of $40 a week for food.   The secret weapon to fighting hunger on a budget?  Just look to the Middle East, the Mediterranean, India or Turkey.  It’s called tabbouleh and it’s freaking brilliant.  (I’m not sure whether tabouli or tabbouleh is the preferred spelling . . . ) The back bone of tabbouleh is bulgur. Bulgur is a parboiled cracked wheat usually made from durum wheat.  It’s sold dried and can be bought whole or de-branned (it has a fairly high fiber content either way).  Every 100 g of bulgur has 12.5 g of protein and 8 g of fiber and it cost $1.75 a pound at the Park Slope Food Coop.

I love cold grain salads but I never made them because it involves cooking the grains first and then chilling them, which is a bit beyond my interest level.  But then I read about how the best wives of Turkey don’t use water to prepare their bulgur  . . . nay! in the summer they use tomato , onion or lemon juice to soak bulgur with out cooking.  You can find that tabouli recipe on Epicurious dot com.

Imaginary scenario:  It’s monday morning and there’s 15 minutes before I need to leave for work. I was gone all weekend so there’s no prepared food in the fridge, not even a slice of bread for a  peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I’m going to have to buy a sandwich from the lunch truck for $8 and risk indigestion.  But wait, what’s that bag of  unassuming uncooked grains doing in the cabinet! It’s bulgar, the unbeatable cracked wheat of the lord.

diretions for last minute tabbouleh lunch:

Fill a peanut butter size jar 1/4 to 1/3 full with dry uncooked bulgar.

Add tomatoe juice or diced tomatoes with juice from a can until the jar is about 3/4 full. (If you have time squeeze some lemon juice in there too).  The bulgar will absorb all the liquid.

Add salt, pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil,  1 tsp cinnamon.

Grab a handful of parsley, mint, scallions, peppers, cucumbers and what ever vegetables you have on hand and put them in plastic bag to take with you to work.  Rinse and dice the veggies when you get to work,  no point bringing lunch if you get fired for tardiness.  I like to have a ratio of 40% vegetables, 40% bulgur and 20% fatty protein rich ingredients, but the decide for yourself.

Fill another container with at least a half cup of fatty protein rich delcious tidbits from your fridge.  Feta, olives, capers, and nuts give the tabbouleh enough umph to keep me going.

Put the jar of bulgar in your bag and don’t forget the veggies, and the olives and nuts.

What about cooking the bulgar?  Because the bulgar is parboiled it doesn’t actually need cooking if it’s soaked in acidic juices.  In about 1 or 2 hours the bulgar will absorb the liquid and be fluffy and delicious. It’ll fluff up whether or not it’s refridgerated. Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy the flavors.  Convince your co-workers to give you parts of their lunches in exchange for spoonfuls of tabbouleh.

Bulgar salads have become such a great side dish or main dish in my hear that I now make a huge batch every week ( using about 2 lbs of dry bulgar a week).

Simple Tabbouleh: I like to make a simple batch with just bulgar, red onions, scallions, mint, parsley, cukes and peppers to keep in the fridge all week.  Through out the week I add different ingredients with to this to keep it fresh and exciting.

Bulgar Prep:

Rinse the bulgar first and pat dry (if you have time). I use about 2 cups of tomatoe and lemon juice for every 1 cup of bulgar.  Add olive oil, cinnaomon salt and pepper.  Instead of tomatoe juice I often buy a can of diced tomatoes in juice and add the whole can to the bulgar.

Mango Fennel Bulgar salad:

Use the Simple Tabbouleh recipe described above and add:

diced mango, fennel, walnuts, currants, goat cheese and a little bit of honey.

Delicous Tabbouleh:

Use the Simple Tabbouleh recipe described above and add:

crumbled feta, olives, red peppers, capers, spinach, cherry tomatoes and serve with roasted egg plant on the side.