Bulgur?
If you don’t know about bulgur, here is a quick primer.
Bulgur is partially cooked cracked wheat. Its use is particularly popular in Middle Eastern dishes.
Bulgur has been around for a very long time– 10,000 years or so according to food historians. Durable, nutritious and versatile, Middle Eastern cooks have, over the many years, found all sorts of ways to incorporate bulgur into their dishes. They stuff vegetables with it, incorporate it into salads like tabbouleh, add it to soups and on and on.
It’s good for you. Bulgar is high in fiber, protein and vitamins and minerals.
In your local Middle Eastern market, you can find bulgur in various textures–fine, medium grind and coarse.
This recipe for Bulgur Pilaf With Tomato and Eggplant is from Sami Tamimi’s widely-heralded cookbook Falastin. You can order the book through your local bookstore or from Amazon.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Bulgur Pilaf With Tomato and Eggplant
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized globe eggplants (cut into 3/4 inch dice)
- 5 T. olive oil
- Salt
- 1 large onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1 T. tomato paste
- 1 T. sugar
- 3 medium tomatoes (roughly chopped)
- 2 green chiles (chopped)
- 1 2/3 C. boiling water
- 2 1/4 C. coarse bulgur
- 1 t. ground cumin
- 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
- Black pepper
- 1/2 C. cilantro leaves (chopped)
- 1/2 t. Aleppo chile flakes (or 1/4 t. regular chile flakes)
- Greek yogurt (to garnish)
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- Step 2 Dice eggplant. Toss diced eggplant cubes in 3 T. oil and 1/2 t. salt. Spread cubes on prepared baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes in 450 degree F. oven. You want the eggplant cubes to be soft and a pretty brown when done. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Step 3 Saute onion in 2 T. hot oil until it has softened and is beginning to color. This will take about 8 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes more. Add tomato paste and sugar and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Add tomatoes, chiles and water. Stir.
- Step 4 Return mixture to a boil. Add bulgur, spices, 1 1/4 t. salt and a generous pinch of freshly-ground black pepper. Stir. Again, return mixture to a boil after which you decrease the stove temperature to low. Cover and continue to cook for 15 minutes.
- Step 5 Remove the pan from the heat and let the pan sit (covered) for another 10 minutes.
- Step 6 Gently stir in the eggplant pieces.
- Step 7 Spoon the dish onto a pretty platter. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and the chile flakes. Top the dish with a generous scoop of Greek yogurt. Alternatively, you can serve this pilaf directly on individual plates.
