Monday 24 September 2012

Beetroot Tabbouleh

Whilst on holiday in Turkey the other day we encountered for the first time a dish which was described as "Bulghur and Beetroot salad", which seems to be rather similar in concept to Tabbouleh, in that it is based on Bulghur (aka Cracked Wheat) and includes lots of herbs - in this case predominantly Mint - but the star ingredient was Beetroot. It was a delicious dish, so I've tried to recreate it here at home.


This is where it starts:


These ones are a mixture of "Detroit" and "Red Ace".


I think it is actually 5 x Detroit and 1 x Red Ace (the redder one, at left of the photo above).

The first task was to cook the beetroot - boiled for about 40 mins in a large pan. After draining, the beetroot was cooled, peeled and cut into very small dice. I also put about 50 grams of Bulghur in a pyrex bowl and then "cooked" it by covering it generously with boiling water and leaving it to stand for about an hour, during which time it absorbed all the water.

Only 4 ingredients: beetroot, bulghur, mint, oil

I gathered a couple of large handfuls of fresh Mint from the garden and used my hachoire / mezzaluna to chop it finely. Then it was simply a matter of combining the ingredients together, with a little splash of oil to keep them moist. The result was very pleasing to taste - and visually stunning!




9 comments:

  1. Strange - I don't know why but I've never tried cracked wheat. Looking at the dish it seems it would work with couscous too.

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    1. Yes, we considered that too. Bulghur is more "satisfying" than couscous, which can be a bit insubstantial unless used in large quantities.

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  2. It looks brilliant. I've gone through phases with Bulghar wheat. I think what's happened is that I've liked it so much I've eaten it too much - and gone off it in consequence.

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  3. It looks stunning. Definitely one to remember as I love beetroot.

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  4. It does look really pretty. Would look nice on the Christmas table as well! I bet it would taste great alongside any dish really.

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  5. I would really like to taste that! Looks interesting.

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  6. I like this idea very much. I am a big fan of bulghur. Have you tried it cooked? It is really good hot as well as in salads.

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  7. Oh this is a recipe that I could get in to. Thanks so much for sharing it. Hurry up beetroot!

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  8. Very nice! Love a simple recipe, especially one so visually pleasing!

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