Thursday, September 9, 2010

Simple Suppers 1

I love cooking.
But sometimes it's the last thing I want to do. Sometimes my brain simply can't perform the mental task of concocting a delicious dinner from the assorted ingredients to be found in my fridge. Other times, my body is too tired to spend very much time cooking at all.

It's at times like this that I turn to my notice board. (I don't have the financial wherewithal to go out to dinner whenever I don't feel like cooking and there is only so much pizza/Chinese/Indian I am willing to eat.) Pinned to my kitchen noticeboard is a growing list of dishes that my boyfriend and I both like, that are relatively simple and quick to make and for which we usually have the ingredients in the fridge. Whenever I need some inspiration, this is where I go.


This is one of the dishes on my list: Tabbouleh
(There are lots of different variations of this recipe. This is the one I make most often but you can adapt it to suit your own taste.)


Ingredients:
25g bulgar wheat
2 large vine tomatoes
1 large bunch parsley
1 small bunch mint
4 spring onions
1 lemon
Olive oil
Sea salt

Prep:
  • Place the bulgar wheat in 50ml of water. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes, or until it has absorbed all of the water.
  • Make a small cross at the base of the tomatoes. Place them in a small bowl and pour over some boiling water. Leave for 30 seconds and then drain away the water. When they have cooled, peel them and discard the skin. Cut them into quarters. Remove the seeds and dice the flesh. (Often, because I'm making this when I'm feeling lazy, I won't bother doing this. I don't mind eating tomato skins and seeds. I actually quite like them. Do what you like.)
  • Place the tomatoes in a serving bowl.
  • Chop the parsley and mint (just the leaves, not the stalks) and add to the bowl.
  • Chop the spring onions and add.
  • When the bulgar wheat has absorbed all its water, fluff it up with a fork to separate the grains. Add to the tomato mixture.
  • Add 2 to 3 tbsps of freshly-squeezed lemon juice.
  • Add salt and a few glugs of olive oil to taste. (I used about 2 tbsps.)
Voila. In a matter of minutes, you've got a delicious (and super healthy) supper!
I often have this with grilled fish. Yum!

2 comments:

  1. Oh, good! Another recipe to use the mint that has taken over my garden. I usually just make raita with it...

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  2. Hi Sharon (KerryFelter),
    I hope you liked it, although I must admit I love raita too.
    I love your blog btw. So creative.

    ReplyDelete