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bulgur wheat and tomatoes

bulgur wheat with tomatoes on a plate with a rocket salad in a bowl, alongside a bowl of yoghurt and Nada Salah's book New Flavours of Lebanese table

Bulgur wheat and tomatoes is a simple, one pot dish popular in Lebanon – comfort food made from a handful of ingredients. Frying the onion in some Zejd extra virgin olive oil until really golden makes a lot of difference when there’s such a short list of ingredients. Given that tomatoes can be hit or miss in terms of flavour, the recipe works well with tinned tomatoes. If you prefer to use fresh ones, adding a tablespoon of tomato puree will intensify the flavour. 

Cracked wheat was once more common in Lebanon than rice and is still added to some types of bread. During Ramadan a bread called meshtah which is eaten before the day’s fast begins, has bulgur wheat added to it. Being parboiled, it cooks in less time, and its interesting nutty flavour has great texture. While it’s easy to find in supermarkets, if you have a Turkish/Kurdish/ Middle Eastern shop nearby, you’ll probably find the darker coloured grain which is more common in Lebanon. Choose a medium or coarse grain, not the fine one which is used in tabbouleh. Keep an eye that it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan, but if it does, the crispy burnt bits all add to the texture.

We’ve borrowed Nada Saleh’s recipe from New Flavours of the Lebanese Table which may be out of print. If there are any leftovers, crumble a bit of feta and fold in some chopped spring onion to make a delicious and portable salad for the next day. 

serves 3 

ingredients

2 tbsp Zejd extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic (optional)
400g tin of chopped tomatoes or 250g of chopped tomatoes, 1 tbsp of tomato purée and 300ml water
200g coarse dark bulgur wheat
150ml water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground 

method

  1. Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown. Stir in the crushed garlic and cook for a minute.
  2. Then add the tin of tomatoes and place the lid on to simmer on a low heat for 5 min. If you’re using fresh tomatoes, without much flavour, add the tomato purée and stir for a minute before adding the chopped tomatoes then simmer. 
  3. Now add the bulgur wheat and the water, salt and cinnamon. If you’re using tinned tomatoes, add only 150ml of water. 
  4. Bring to the boil, cover and turn the heat to its lowest setting for 8-10 minutes. Lift the lid and check the grains have absorbed all the water.

Serve warm with thick greek style yoghurt on the side and a green salad.  

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