Top | The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean
Bulgur Salad with Red Pepper and Walnuts
(recipe, Paula Wolfert)
primary-image, l
Introduction
This salad is excellent with grilled meat or just warm pita bread.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1½ cups fine-grain bulgur
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 4 Tbsp. ketchup
- ½ cup finely chopped parsley
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses or more to taste
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1½ tsp. ground cumin
- 1½ tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. Near East, Aleppo, or hot Hungarian pepper
- ½ tsp. ground allspice
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Garnish
- 6 or 7 short sprigs flat-leaf parsley
- 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped walnuts
- 2 Tbsp. pine nuts, browned in oil
Steps
- Place the bulgur in a fine sieve and shake to remove dust. Dampen with cold water and let stand 15 to 30 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture.
- In a skillet, sauté the onions in the oil until they become translucent. Remove from the heat to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the bulgur, onions, and all the remaining ingredients; blend well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper, and garnish with parsley sprigs, walnuts, and sautéed pine nuts.
Note
Culinate recipe editor's notes: When I made this, I cooked the onions a bit longer (until just beginning to brown), tripled the amount of pomegranate molasses, and substituted Spanish (smoked) paprika for the Aleppo pepper.