eatbensmeat

Turns out this is the stuff I’ve been getting for years at the kebab places, I just didn’t know what it was called. I just pointed and said “the stuff with tomatoes and parsley in it.” It’s a great side salad by itself, or you can throw it on gyros or falafel or almost anything else Mediterranean.

Couple of notes:

1. Bulgur wheat goes by a couple of different names and levels of grind. If you see something called burghul wheat, that’s the same thing. You’ll want finely ground for this, not the coarse ground. If you can’t find it, you can just skip it, it really doesn’t add much to the dish besides making it more filling. If you’re curious, it’s wheat that’s been parboiled and ground. I guess it’s traditional.
2. When I say to mince the herbs, I really mean to mince the shit out of it. A slap chop is your friend here, otherwise just go to town on it. It’s a good chance to practice your knife skills. The measurements given are for the pre-minced volumes.
3. You can sub lemon juice for lime juice (or vice-versa) as you like, I just had both lying around. If you only have one, do it to taste, because if you just double up the amount of lemon juice it could get overpowering
4. I added a few serrano, that’s absolutely not traditional and totally optional. I just wanted to give it a little heat.
5. Next time I make it, I might add chopped red onion and minced garlic to it. I think that would be good.

Ingredients

1/2 cup fine ground bulgur wheat

4 roma tomatoes, finely chopped

1 cucumber, finely chopped

2 cups packed parsley, minced

1 cup packed cilantro, minced

1 cup packed mint, minced

4-6 green onions, chopped, just the white and lighter green parts. Once the onion starts to split up at the top, you can throw it away

3 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt to taste (I think I threw in a teaspoon of kosher salt)

Directions

First off: put the bulgur wheat in a bowl and cover with water. Let it soak for 5-10 minutes. Next, drain the wheat through a mesh metal strainer, then take small handfuls of it out and squeeze the water out of it. Transfer the squeezed wheat into a mixing bowl.

Add everything else to the bowl and mix it up.

That’s one of the things I like about this kind of dish, there’s not much to fuck up. Just chop everything up and mix it together. It’s best if you let it sit for an hour covered before serving.