Wikipedia: Bulgur (also bulghur or burghul) (from Turkish bulgur, known as ????????, pligoúri, in Greek and as burghul (????) in Arabic) is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, but most often from durum wheat.

If you have tried tabbouleh (Arabic: ??????; also tabouleh or tabouli) before, you probably would have known about bulgur wheat, which is the main ingredients in tabbouleh.

I got to know about bulgur wheat through photographing bulgur wheat salad for one of my clients. My first attempt in making bulgur wheat salad was quite a success and it appeared really colourful. Since then, I have fallen in love with bulgur wheat salad.

Bulgur wheat is said to be more nutritious than rice and couscous. I have since made bulgur wheat salad as one the frequent dishes for my lunchbox.

I bring my own lunch to work probably 3-4 times a week. Rather than feeding on some crap and expensive food (i.e. sandwiches, blend hot food…) near my workplace. Some may ask if I still get motivated and have time to prepare lunch for the next day after work, my answer is still yes – I don’t see why it couldn’t be made possible. Of course, there are times when I am lazy and buy food from outside. But, I do always make a point to bring my own.

It’s quick to prepare bulgur wheat salad. There’s nothing to cook except for boiling bulgur wheat. I think this would appeal to people who want to make quick and healthy lunch for the next day. Another encouraging point in making bulgur wheat salad for lunch is that it costs less than what you may have to spend at Starbucks, Pret a Manger, Eat, Wasabi, Itsu, … etc, which you probably need to spend at least £5 if not more.

For health conscious people or those on special diet, this refreshing and delicious bulgur wheat salad will definitely fit your choice. The variation of making bulgur wheat salad is endless. I will leave it to your imagination.

My selections of ingredients in making bulgur wheat salad are simple and very Mediterranean-like. Pretty similar to tabbouleh, I stick to its principal of using fresh herbs and lemon juice. You can accompany bulgur wheat salad with cooked meat or seafood to make it a more filling dish which will be suitable to serve as dinner.

Recipe: Bulgur Wheat Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Bulgur Wheat, 200g

Water, 1000ml

Tomatoes (peeled, deseeded, chopped), 4

Flat leaf parsley (finely chopped), handful

Lemon, 1 or 1.5

Raisins, 50g

Black Olives, 50g

Feta cheese (cubes), 70 – 80g

Extra Virgin Olive oil, 4 tbsp

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Boil 1000ml of water in a saucepan and put in bulgur wheat and cook it according to the instruction on the packet. Once cook, strain and let it cool.

2. Meanwhile, soak the raisins in warm water for about 15 minutes until plump.

3. Chop parsley, black olives and tomatoes.

4. In a large bowl, put in the cooked bulgur wheat. Mix in tomatoes, black olives, parsley, feta cheese and raisins.

5. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon and mix with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.

6. Then, put in 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Give it a good mix.

7. Season with salt and black pepper.