National Culinary Review

BULGUR

“When it comes to flavor, bulgur is one of the most versatile ingredients you can use,” says Sortun.

Bulgur is available in coarse and fine varieties. To use it most effectively, understand the uses for both. Sortun often combines the coarse variety, with its sweet, nutty taste, with other grains to produce a variety of pilafs. She uses fine bulgur to replace white flour in dishes such as red-lentil sliders. She makes vegetable burgers with apple, red lentil, cabbage and Turkish spices.

Another dish using fine bulgur is a tomato dolma that is served over kisir, a tomato/red pepper tabbouleh. Fine bulgur thickens a gazpacho-like base.

“With a stronger profile than white rice, but not stronger than
brown rice, bulgur picks up the flavor of what it’s paired with,”
Neff says. “In tabbouleh, for example, it’s a vessel for the olive
oil, mint and tomatoes.”
He has nearly a dozen recipes for coarse bulgur in his
repertoire. They range from bulgur, feta cheese and chickpea
salad to bulgur and braised spinach, and from bulgur, mango
and almond cereal to bulgur pilaf with asparagus and sundried
tomatoes. “Bulgur is on the menu once a week in our accounts,”
he says. “It is well-received.”
Cornell University students like bulgur, too. Evans uses it to
enhance the mix of grains he serves and to increase the nutrition
level of his dishes. “Bulgur breaks up the use of rice and pasta
and adds fiber to students’ diets,” he says.

He likes to serve it hot, with fresh spices and vegetables such as corn and red pepper. He puts it on the menu when he serves bulgogi beef with ginger and orange. Sometimes, he combines it with eggs to make a scrapple-like dish.