← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 15 g Butter (optional)
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 long green pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 1 tbsp Turkish pepper paste (optional)
• 1 Tomato, grated or finely diced
• 300 g coarse bulgur wheat (pilavlık)
• 550 ml hot water or vegetable stock
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil (and butter, if using) in a heavy pan over medium heat. Cook the onion and pepper for 5–6 min until soft.
2. Stir in the tomato and pepper pastes for 1 minute, then add the tomato and cook for 2 min until saucy.
3. Add the bulgur and stir for 1 minute to coat each grain. Pour in the hot water, add the salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
4. Cover, turn the heat to its lowest and cook for 12–15 min until the water is absorbed and small holes appear on the surface.
5. Turn off the heat, lay a clean tea towel under the lid and leave to steam for 10 min. Fluff with a fork and serve with stews, grills or yogurt.

Tips

• Use coarse bulgur; fine bulgur turns mushy and is meant for kibbeh and salads.
• Bulgur is wheat, so this is not gluten-free; skip the butter to keep it vegan.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Turkish Foodie Ozlem's Turkish Table