Bulgur pilaf, a highly traditional central Anatolian dish, can be pretty boring, at least for me, when cooked regular way: with only tomato paste, oil, and maybe onions. However, pub style bulgur (my mom calls this recipe pub style, but I have no idea why) is rich in flavor + vegetables, is fun and a wholesome meal on its own.
I don't know how many different kinds of bulgur there are elsewhere, but in Turkey we have two types: fine and coarse. Fine bulgur is usually for desserts and salads like kısır (tabbouleh); and coarse bulgur is perfect for rice.
1 cup coarse bulgur
1 small onion, diced
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
2-3 banana peppers or any fresh pepper, chopped
1 tbsp tomato or pepper paste
2 tomatoes, diced
1 potato, diced
1 tsp pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp mint flakes (if you have fresh mint, even better!)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups water
salt
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
optional:
1-2 cloves of garlic, sliced and added with the onion
carrot, chopped in rounds or half-rounds
corn
-Heat the oil in a pot and add the onion. Stir for a couple of minutes and add pepper. When they are soft add first the paste, stir for a minute, and then diced tomato.
-When tomatoes are cooked, add the water, bulgur, potatoes, pepper flakes, ground black pepper, mint flakes, and salt.
-Wait until the water boils. Then turn the heat down all the way to very low and cook until the water is absorbed and bulgur is tender.
-Since parsley doesn't really need to be cooked, add it after you turn off the heat and mix well.
-Bulgur can be sticky, so you better stir it every now and then. Once it's cooked, cover the pot by putting a paper towel or a clean kitchen cloth between the pot and the lid to absorb the moisture. Let it sit for at least 5-10 minutes like that before you serve.
You can serve this delicious pilaf with yogurt, cold beer, meat, or with anything you want. I like it warm, but since it's cooked with olive oil it can be served cold as well. A lot of people I know eat it cold, actually.
Finally, this is another recipe that is blessed by parsley for Weekend Herb Blogging started by Kalyn and hosted this weekend by Fiber of 28 Cooks
