Toasted Bulgur Salad with Corn and Tomatoes

In an effort to clear out our pantry and use up all of those random half boxes of food, plus avoid the grocery store for one more day, I decided I wanted to cook a bulgur dish last night.  After a quick search, I found a recipe that I could throw together with ingredients I already had at home.  We ate this salad as our main meal, but in the future, I would love to serve it chilled as a side dish - perfect for a summer picnic!  The toasted bulgur has a great nutty taste and a nice chew while the veggies add and extra burst of color and flavor.  I have included a link to the original recipe (which looks delicious) but I made several changes to account for the ingredients I had on hand.

Toasted Bulgur Salad with Corn and Tomatoes
adapted from Epicurious

Serves 8 (Serves four if using as a main dish)
Ingredients:


1 1/2 cups coarse bulgur
2 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups frozen corn (Use fresh if in season)
1 medium tomato, chopped (I think the cherry tomatoes called for in the original recipe would be even better)
3/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup cilantro chopped, plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste

In a large heavy dry skillet toast bulgur over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes, or until it makes popping sounds and is browned lightly (Mine took about 7 minutes and turned brown really fast at that point so keep an eye on it). Transfer bulgur to a bowl and cool.

In a saucepan bring water with salt to a boil and stir in toasted bulgur. Reduce heat and simmer bulgur, covered, about 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove pan from heat and let bulgur stand, covered, 10 minutes. Transfer bulgur to bowl and cool.

While bulgur is cooking, in skillet heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook onions until soft.  Then add corn, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes, or until just tender. Finally add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. 

Cool veggie mixture and add to bulgur, tossing to combine. Stir in cilantro and squeeze lemon juice over salad.  Garnish with additional cilantro and serve.  I served ours warm but you can also make it ahead of time and serve it at room temperature or chilled. 

 

Enjoy!

What is your favorite picnic side dish?  The season is coming up so let's share ideas!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Crispy Fried Avocado Salad

 

With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner I've had Mexican food on the brain.  Ok, who am I kidding?  I always have Mexican food on the brain.  While my parents were visiting, we decided to have a little fiesta one night, which included this Crispy Fried Avocado Salad.  I've heard of fried avocado before but never actually tried it, so I figured this night was as good as any to give it a try.  I think they turned out really good - warm and crunchy on the outside, cool and refreshing on the inside!  

 

Crispy Fried Avocado Salad

inspired by Emeril 

Serves 4

1 c. buttermilk

2 tbsp. hot sauce (I used Cholula)

3 firm-ripe avocados (You don't want them too ripe or they will turn to mush)

1 c. yellow cornmeal (You may not need this much)

 

1/4 c. creme fraiche (or sour cream)

2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp. hot sauce

1/2 chopped tomato

1/2 finely chopped jalapeno

1 slice of red onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil for frying

Here's a quick tutorial for cutting avocados.

     

             Cut                               Wack (carefully!)

             Slice                                    Scoop

In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, 2 tbsp. hot sauce and avocado slices. Soak for 30 minutes.

 

Sauce:
In a small bowl, combine the creme fraiche (or sour cream), lime juice, cilantro, and 1/2 tsp. hot sauce.  Chill until ready to use.


Pico:
Combine chopped tomato, jalapeno, red onion and cilantro.  Set aside.

Fried avocados:
Put cornmeal in a shallow bowl.  Dredge soaked avocado slices in the cornmeal, shaking to remove excess cornmeal.

Heat several tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat.  Place one layer of avocado slices in the pan for about 1-2 minutes on each side until crispy and golden.  I had to repeat the process twice to fit all of my avocado.  Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.  Arrange on salad plates, drizzle with creme fraiche sauce and divide pico into the center of each salad. 

Notes:  Use more hot sauce if you like it really spicy!
            Serve with dipping sauces on the side if you prefer to pick them up and dunk.

 

Enjoy!

On the Lighter Side

After moving only a week ago, Greg and I have already been spoiled with several days of beautiful spring weather here in St. Louis. We live across the street from a park and have been taking advantage of it on a daily basis. We've been walking, running (ok rogging, my version of the run-jog-try-not-to-die-because-you-haven't-worked-out-in-a-month, you know what I'm talking about), or biking almost every day and it actually has me thinking about healthy eating. Between wrapping up our old jobs, traveling to England and moving 400 miles away we've pretty much been living on fast food for about a month now. I know this rarely happens (those who know me know that I could *almost* live off of fast food and diet coke) but I actually started craving fruits and vegetables and good ol' home cooked food.

Fast forward to my first trip to the grocery store since moving into our new house. Although the layout of the store was new, I felt oddly at home amongst all the familiar produce options. The tall, slender asparagus bundles, crates of bright orange clementines and bunches of leafy romaine bursting from the shelves gave me a sense of calm I hadn't felt in weeks. The inspiration for a delicious salad came in the form of some of the most juicy, luscious looking strawberries I have laid eyes on since the peak of last year's strawberry season.

With my cart full and my heart happy, I headed home to make dinner. That container of strawberries never made it into the salad, but instead went straight to our tummies. So, another trip to the grocery store and another pound of strawberries later, it was time for action. I've been using balsamic dressing on my salads for ages but recently I've been reading about people using a balsamic reduction and wondered what the difference was between the two. A quick google search later and my research was complete. A balsamic reduction is simply a boiled down version of balsamic vinegar mixed with a touch of sugar. For me, simplicity is key on these precious warm spring days so this salad has only a few ingredients but boy do they pack a punch!


Summer Spinach Salad with Balsamic Reduction

Serves 2

- 2 large handfuls of spinach
- 4-6 large strawberries, sliced
- handful of blueberries
- 1/4 c. blue cheese crumbles
- 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. sugar

To make the balsamic reduction put about 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add about a teaspoon of sugar to the mix and reduce to medium heat. (I give these measurements as rough estimates, but I basically put in a few good glugs of balsamic and a few pinches of sugar.) Stir the mixture frequently and keep an eye on it because it can go from sweet and syrupy to thick and burned very quickly. I would suggest taking it off about 3-5 minutes before you think it's done because it seemed to thicken up more as it cooled.
While your balsamic reduction cools, divide the spinach onto chilled plates and top with strawberries, blueberries and blue cheese crumbles. Drizzle with the balsamic reduction (don't go overboard here, a little bit goes a long way). Enjoy!


Branching out: After tasting this recipe, we both thought it was delicious as is. However, it is a great recipe for add-ins or substitutions such as toasted walnuts, dried cranberries or thinly sliced pears.