World’s First Fast Food

With nutritionists advising us to eat more bread, pasta and grains, one product that deserves more attention is bulgur wheat, which has a rich, nutty taste and is an important ingredient in the cuisines of the Middle East. In the West, the most famous bulgur dish is Tabbouleh, a Lebanese salad flavored with parsley, mint and tomatoes. But there are many other ways to use this versatile grain.

In Jerusalem, I’ve had peppery bulgur wheat topped with spicy meat stew, a specialty of the Kurdish Jews. In Los Angeles, I enjoyed an aromatic bulgur wheat salad with peppers and onions at the Armenian Cultural Festival. And at parties given by friends of mine from Middle Eastern lands, I indulged in kibbeh , a fried pastry made of a bulgur shell enclosing a lamb filling.

Bulgur wheat is perfect for quick and easy cooking. It cooks in 15 minutes and is a delicious accompaniment for vegetables and meat. Indeed, bulgur was one of the world’s first fast foods; it has been a staple in the Middle East since ancient times. For salads, it can be prepared even without cooking; the customary way to prepare tabbouleh is to steep the wheat in hot water.

Basically bulgur is wheat that has been steamed, dried and cracked into small pieces. This process makes the wheat fast and easy to cook at home, in contrast to whole-wheat kernels, which require soaking and lengthy cooking. The bulgur grains are light-brown, about the color of brown rice.

In Middle Eastern and Armenian grocery stores, bulgur comes in several sizes--fine, medium and coarse. Purists insist that fine bulgur is best for salads, medium is for pilafs, and large grains are for soups. Actually, medium works in all these types of dishes and is the size most often available in natural food stores and some supermarkets.

Bulgur wheat is usually defined as “cracked wheat,” but some health-food stores carry another type of cracked wheat for which the grains are crushed without being steamed. Both can be used interchangeably in cooking. Sometimes bulgur is sold as “tabbouleh mix,” with herbs and spices added to the wheat; this too can be used in recipes calling for bulgur wheat.

As a side dish, meatless main course or stuffing for poultry or vegetables, bulgur wheat is usually prepared as pilaf. You can make pilaf in two ways--by dry-roasting the grains in the pan or, for a richer result, by sauteing them--and then adding liquid, usually stock or water. Vegetables such as sauteed onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes or eggplant cubes can be added. Some Middle Eastern recipes call for cooking the bulgur wheat with lentils, garbanzo beans or diced meat. For festive dinners, bulgur pilaf is topped with plumped raisins and toasted pine nuts, almonds or other nuts.

Bulgur wheat is especially popular in Lebanese, Armenian, Syrian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Kurdish, Turkish and Sephardic Jewish cuisines. The favorite flavors of these cuisines are evident in the seasonings of traditional recipes: garlic, mint, basil, cilantro, green onions, cumin, ground coriander seeds and cinnamon.

Bulgur is sometimes called the “rice of the poor.” But with our current quest for a variety of lean, tasty grain dishes, bulgur should be a welcome addition to menus, whether sumptuous or simple.

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Serve this pilaf as a side dish with grilled or roasted chicken, or as a vegetarian main course accompanied by yogurt and a Mediterranean salad of diced tomatoes, cucumbers and green onions.

BULGUR WHEAT PILAF WITH MUSHROOMS, PEAS AND PINE NUTS 3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, olive oil or butter 1 medium onion, chopped 4 medium cloves garlic, minced 1 1/2 cups medium bulgur wheat 3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth or water Salt Freshly ground pepper 1/2 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced 2 cups cooked peas 1/4 cup chopped parsley 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add bulgur and saute, stirring, 2 minutes. Add broth and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add peas and heat through.

Gently stir mushroom mixture into bulgur pilaf with fork. Stir in parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings. Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve immediately. Makes 4 main-course or 6 side-dish servings.

Dry-Roasted Bulgur Pilaf:

Omit all but 1 tablespoon oil (for sauteing mushrooms). Omit onion. Dry-roast bulgur wheat with garlic over medium heat 2 minutes. Add stock and continue as above.

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For an easy, all-in-one-pan lunch or supper, I like to cook bulgur wheat with quick-cooking vegetables and add smoked turkey or chicken. I also add sun-dried tomatoes in their dry form, which are much less expensive than the oil-packed type and give a delicious taste to the bulgur wheat. If you don’t have them, substitute diced sweet red peppers.

BULGUR WHEAT WITH SMOKED CHICKEN, CORN AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 1/4 cups bulgur wheat 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth or water 1/4 cup dry-pack sun-dried tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces Salt Freshly ground pepper Cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil 3 ounces thinly sliced smoked chicken or turkey pastrami 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels 2/3 cup shelled fresh or frozen peas

Heat oil in medium saucepan. Add onion and saute over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add bulgur and saute about 2 minutes. Add stock, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Add dried basil (but not fresh) and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut chicken into thin strips and set aside.

Lightly stir corn and peas into bulgur mixture and cook, covered, until tender and liquid is absorbed, 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and let stand briefly to heat through. Add fresh basil at this point. Taste and adjust seasonings. Makes 3 main course servings.

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This colorful, tangy dish, redolent of fresh herbs and flavored with fresh lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil, is a perfect party dish. Prepare it the traditional way by steeping the bulgur in hot water or (for a quicker method) follow the note at the end of the recipe.

TABBOULEH (Bulgur Wheat and Parsley Salad) 1 1/2 cups fine or medium bulgur wheat 5 plum tomatoes 4 small pickling cucumbers or 1/2 long (European) cucumber 1 cup chopped parsley, preferably Italian 2/3 cup chopped fresh mint 4 green onions, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons lemon juice or more to taste 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or more to taste Salt Freshly ground pepper

Pour 5 cups hot water over bulgur wheat in large bowl and let soak until completely cool. Transfer to colander and drain off excess water. Squeeze wheat dry and transfer to large bowl.

Dice tomatoes and cucumbers very small. Mix diced vegetables with parsley, mint, green onions and bulgur wheat. Add lemon juice and olive oil to taste (salad should be fairly tart). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve cold or at cool room temperature. Makes about 8 appetizer servings.

Note : For quick Tabbouleh, cook bulgur wheat instead of steeping. Combine bulgur wheat and 2 1/4 cups boiling water in medium saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn out into large bowl and let cool. Continue with recipe as directed.