the other side of rice

unless you have grown up with it as part of the food your family ate, bulgur — not "cracked wheat" with which it is often confused — is most probably one of those food items you are not too familiar with. these days, however, it is becoming as popular as other commonly consumed grains like rice.

bulgur wheat can be used in a myriad of ways to produce many delicious recipes and has a very long history with those peoples who have originally used it as a staple. it is a healthy grain and is great for vegetarians and vegans as it can be used for innumerable meatless dishes.

before using bulgur wheat it is important to realize that it comes in different degrees of fineness, from coarse to medium to fine. often, they will be marked with only numbers such as "no#1", continuing with 2, 3 & sometimes 4. ideally, each is used in a specific way for the particular recipe you are making. not all supermarkets carry all the different grinds so you may need to make a trip to a store which specializes in selling items like this. note also that there is a dark kind of bulgur [most common] and a golden one. for the following recipe, you will need the coarse grind (brown or golden).

rice-like once cooked, coarse bulgur wheat is almost always exclusively used to make dolma (stuffed vegetables) and pilavs. here, i am using it the way we ate it at home; an excellent side dish and alternative for rice and couscous, bulgur pilav is very popular and goes well with fish and meat. it is really one of my favourite ways to enjoy bulgur wheat.

if you can make rice, you can make this pilav. you'll also make it again and again!


bulgur pilav

ingredients:

1 c coarse grind bulgur (medium is ok but coarse is best)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp margarine + 2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sized tomato, chopped OR,
1 tbsp red pepper paste or tomato paste
1 1/2 c stock or water*
salt & pepper as need/wanted

*usually it is a 1:2 ratio of bulgur to water but here you want only 1 1/2 cups so the finished dish will be al dente.

method:

melt the 2 tbsp of margarine in a fry pan or casserole which has a tight fitting lid.

add the chopped onion and fry it over medium heat until it starts to brown. at this point, add the garlic if using.

add the tomato and fry it with the onion (and garlic) for about 5 minutes. stir it every minute or two.

add the stock or water and salt and pepper. if the stock is not salted, or if you are using water, you will need more salt. it is usually around 1/2 tsp salt + 1/8 tsp black pepper. bring this to a boil.

add the 2 tbsp of olive oil and the bulgur wheat and stir. bring it up to a boil again.


turn down the heat to minimum and place the lid on the pan. cook it for about 20/25 minutes as you would for rice.

at the end of the cooking time, remove the lid and check to see all the water has been absorbed. stir the mixture and place the lid back on.

remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for about 15 minutes before serving. it should be al dente and not mushy.

you can either place the bulgur in molds and press it in firmly, unmolding it on your serving plates or just serve as you would for rice.

enjoy!

full of beans

often seen at picnics, get-togethers, potluck dinners and bbq's, bean salads are popular because they keep well and are very simple to make. they are also very inexpensive, can be made the night before (they should be to improve flavours!), and do not deteriorate quickly as do many other salads.


there really aren't any hard & steadfast rules for making a bean salad — it is essentially just a mix of your favourite beans, vegetables and salad dressing. the only real rule is to let the salad marinate for a few hours so the vegetables and beans can absorb the flavours of the marinade you are using. i tend not to go too heavy on the vegetables and prefer a balanced dressing, and not one which is highly acidic.

served in small portions, the following will stay good for at least a full week. the salad tastes best served at room temperature. if the flavours have faded a bit over the following days, you can perk things up by adding a bit more of "this and that" before serving.


marinated bean salad

makes enough for 6 - 8 people

ingredients:

19 oz can mixed beans (or your fave)

1/4 - 1/2 large green pepper
2 - 3 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1/8 - 1/4 red onion
4 - 6 tbsp corn

2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
2 -3 tbsp vinegar (reg white or apple cider)
1 -2 tbsp honey*
1/4 tsp each garlic & onion powder (or 1 clove chopped garlic)
1/4 tsp salt - or more
1/8 tsp black pepper

chopped parsley or coriander (optional)

*can use brown rice syrup (vegan) or regular sugar also.

method:

drain and rinse the beans and set aside in a strainer so all the water runs off.

meanwhile, prepare the vegetables: thinly slice the green pepper and red onions, chop the sun dried tomatoes and measure out the corn. place the vegetables in a bowl.

add or change the vegetables as you like. some people typically add cooked green (haricot) beans as a standard.

add the drained beans to the vegetables and then add the dressing ingredients. mix everything together and add the parsley or coriander if using.

let the salad marinate for a few hours on the counter. the cold of the fridge tends to slow the absorption process so let it marinate first.

simple, quick and easy

enjoy!

reruns no. 3 — return of the knish

quite a while ago, i posted a recipe for basic potato knishes in which the dough i used was more of a softer (somewhat) bread-like one — and not the more calorie-laden flaky pastry type casing. while there is nothing wrong with the former knish dough used in the original posting, most people want one which is almost pastry-like.

for those unfamiliar with these typically jewish appetizers or snacks, knishes can be formed from doughs of several types: a flaky pastry one, a puff pastry one, a short crusted one (mock puff pastry), a paper thin strudel type one, or as i posted a more bread-y type.

for this 'recipe rerun', and as requested by several people, i am posting two additional recipes. both are great, quite easy to make and result with fantastic finished knishes. the recipes come from the prolific and well known jewish cookbook author, norene gilletz — a fellow canadian. check out her site and recipes :)

the recipe for potato-onion filling can be found in the original post i did. you can use whatever fillings you like as long as they do not "run" while baking. popular fillings are potato, buckwheat (kasha), mushroom, various vegetable and even meat ones.


flaky pastry dough for knishes
aka flaky ginger ale pastry

this is a very easy-to-put-together and always successful dough, especially if done in a food processor. it can be frozen for later use. its success is in the use of a carbonated liquid for the 'wet' ingredient. see the recipe for options.

makes enough for 12 knishes (recipe can be doubled)

dough ingredients:

1 c plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 c frozen margarine* (1 stick), cut in 8 pieces
1/4 c cold carbonated beverage** — ginger ale or 7 UP or carbonated water
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

*margarine is used in order to adhere to jewish dietary laws as these are often served at meals with meat; you can try butter but i can't guarantee results as i've never tried it.
**do NOT use regular water or diet drinks

filling ingredients:

see here

method:

before starting, take note that you will not (most likely) need ALL of the wet ingredients, so do not be overzealous and add all of it at once or you'll have a mess and a ruined recipe. you've been forewarned! :)

if you cut the margarine into 8 pieces and put them on a plastic wrap lined plate, they freeze within an hour or so. if you freeze the whole block, it takes much longer.

in a food processor or bowl, combine the flour with the frozen margarine.

process it with pulses or use a pastry cutter in the bowl to make a crumbly mixture. you don't want any chunks.

in a small pyrex, combine the carbonated drink with the vinegar.

slowly add the wet to the dry a tablespoon at a time until you get a somewhat (rounded) ball of dough. if using the food processor, turn it on and steadily add the liquid and process until it JUST starts to make the ball.

discard the remaining wet ingredients.

take the dough and divide it equally in half on a floured board.

make two discs and wrap them in waxed paper or plastic wrap. you can do this directly on them.

refrigerate the dough discs or freeze them. if refrigerating, wait a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours for it to fully chill to make rolling easy. you can leave them overnight.

defrost, if frozen, until pliable and still cold.


forming your knishes:

for this dough, make an 8" x 12" rectangle only. it doesn't sound quite big enough but it is.

make sure your counter is well floured and don't be too rough with it. flouring the dough is essential to success here. i also find rolling it out between two pieces of parchment or wax paper the easiest and cleanest method; your dough doesn't stick to the rolling pin.

if you cannot get an exact rectangle that is 8 x 12, use your hands to shape the borders.

take the appropriate amount of filling (it should measure about 1.5 to 2 inches in width and run the length of the piece of dough) and place it evenly along the long side of the dough, leaving about a 1/2" border or so just before the filling. leave about a 1/2 inch border on either side also.

carefully roll it up fairly tightly. use the wax paper as a guide and tool as such:

grab the bottom edge of the waxed paper and pull it up and over to cover the filling.

continue rolling using the paper to guide the direction and correct the tension.

use the wax paper to tighten the roll as necessary. continue rolling until you get to the top edge.

why use wax paper and not just roll it without? the dough is delicate when rolled thinly. it makes rolling very easy and lowers the risk for screw-ups.

seal the edges lightly!

the finished roll .....


preheat your oven to 350F.

now the fun part: cutting the dough. traditionally, this is done with the side of your hand and NOT a knife. it is done in a sawing motion back and forth. this serves to seal the knishes.

as you do this, you will fuse the edges.

cut the knishes with your hand equally into 6 pieces per disc of dough. make a rough "guess-timate" with your eye before going ahead and making them too large.


place the cut knishes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. you can seal up the tops and press them in slightly.

bake the knishes (no egg wash) for about 40 minutes or until nicely golden. keep an eye on them.

golden brown and completely delicious! :))

* * * * * * *

warm water knish dough

makes enough for 24 knishes

this recipe makes a very pliable and easy to work dough. it uses eggs and warm water and is like a strudel dough which is very thin. you need a large (11 c) food processor to make the full recipe. if you have a small one, make 1/2 recipe at a time or 2 batches.

ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 c oil
1/2 c warm water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2.5 c all purpose flour

method:

in a food processor, put the eggs, oil and water. mix until blended.

add the remaining salt, baking powder and flour and process ONLY JUST until it is blended. do NOT process it for longer or it will not work: you do not want to develop the elasticity of the gluten.


remove the dough and cut it in 4 equal sections. cover the pieces you are not working with and keep them apart from each other or they will fuse together again. best to keep them on a lightly floured plate or plates.

take one piece of dough and flour it well all over. coax the dough, on a well floured board or counter, into a rough rectangle.

roll out the dough, keeping the shape of a rectangle, as thinly possible. you should be able to see your hands underneath it.

again, place your filling along the long side of the dough keeping a 1/2 inch border.

roll up the dough and cut it using a sawing motion with your hand as in the previous recipe.


place them on an oiled or lined sheet & bake your knishes at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden.

enjoy!

n.b. for both recipes, you can freeze your unbaked knishes and bake them directly frozen at 350F for about 3/4 of an hour. i can't guarantee 100% perfection with the potato filled ones, though. potatoes don't tend to freeze well.

thanks norene!