Brown rice and whole grain pastas have been our pantry staple starches, but we’ve recently expanded our carbohydrate palette to other whole grains, bulgur wheat among them. Bulgur wheat comes in several grain sizes; the smaller the size, the less cooking time necessary, which makes it perfect for a weeknight meal, when you don’t want to spend a lot of time at the stove but still want to create something delicious and pretty. This dish is my first attempt at using bulgur wheat, and I’m pleased to say it was a success.
Ingredients:
1/2 package of ground beef
sweet chili sauce (optional)
salt
1 cup fine-grain bulgur wheat
1 Roma tomato, sliced
1/3 large onion, sliced
3 large mushrooms, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
feta cheese (optional)
arugula (optional)
Place the ground beef in a mixing bowl, add 3-5 dollops of sweet chili sauce and a few pinches of salt and mix thoroughly throughout the beef. If you don’t have sweet chili sauce, try using ketchup and salt. Set aside.
Place the bulgur in a pot, add 1 cup of water to start, and turn on the heat. The water will quickly absorb into the bulgur, so keep adding water 1/2 cup at a time until the bulgur is slightly submerged. The bulgur will continue absorbing the water, and you can keep adding water until the bulgur is soft after absorbing the water. Check often and stir occasionally. The bulgur should cook in 10-15 min. It’s ready when you’re able to fluff it with a fork.
In a skillet, saute the tomato, onion and green pepper for 5 min., then stir in the ground beef mix. Cook until the onion and pepper soften, then stir in the mushrooms and the bulgur. Stir in feta cheese if you like for some tartness, and plate with a garnish of arugula.
ATB 