Hooray for making lunch ahead of time! Making big salads at the beginning of each week makes making lunch easy. I’m already running fast enough out the door with my espresso cup half-full, let alone thinking about what to make for lunch! So this turned out to be a super easy and wonderful lunch-salad-option! It feels like a blank slate salad. I added chickpeas at the last minute, but the recipe also suggested adding chopped eggplant (can’t wait to try that version!).
Ingredients
Source: The New Book of Middle Eastern Food
1 large onion, chopped
5 T. oil
3 cups bulghur, washed in cold water and drained
1 28-oz. can whole and peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. all-spice, plus more to taste
1 1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
optional garnish: pine nuts and/or parsley
Directions
1. Fry the onion over medium heat in 2 T. olive oil, til golden. Add bulghur and stir well
2. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, chickpeas, sugar, salt, pepper, all-spice and water.
3. Stir and cook, covered for 15 minutes. Add a little water if it looks dry or let it cook uncovered to let some of the water evaporate if it’s too wet
4. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for 10 more minutes until grain is plump and tender. Add a little water as needed. Stir in 3 T. remaining oil.
Voila!
