Bulgar Pilaf

(Originally posted by Bekki)

The Guardian’s Saturday magazine has a recipe column called ‘The New Vegetarian’. It’s often something delicious and this week’s was no exception. I tried it last night and it was heavenly, so I thought I’d share the recipe.

Bulgar Pilaf serves 2

1 tbsp olive oil

40g butter

4 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced

1/8 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1 bayleaf

120g coarse bulgur

250ml water

2 tbsp chopped mint

2 tbsp chopped chervil

2 tbsp chopped tarragon

4 tbsp Greek yogurt (optional)

1 tbsp roasted walnuts, chopped (optional)

In a pan, heat the olive oil and half the butter, then sauté the onion for about 10 minutes, or until it is a nice brown colour. Add the allspice, cinnamon, bayleaf and bulgur wheat, and stir to coat the bulgur with oil. Add the water and some salt and pepper, cover and cook for 10 minutes on a very low flame. Take off the heat and set aside to rest, covered. After five minutes or so, add the herbs and the rest of the butter to the pot and stir gently so that it melts in better. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve hot with a dollop of yogurt, a few nuts and a splash of olive oil.

I halved the quantities since there’s only one of me. I did put a little butter in at the end, but you could leave it out entirely. I used fine bulgar instead of coarse, one onion, cinnamon and nutmeg for the spices, tarragon and fresh rosemary from our garden for the herbs and low-fat yoghurt. Definitely put the walnuts in, there’s something about their texture that really brings everything together. I served it with some left over aubergine curry and (very fiery) curried roasted chickpeas.