A Turkish Delight!

Bulgur Tuco con Verdure & Uva Passa al Baharat

Turkish Bulgur with Baharat Spiced Vegetables & Raisins

Well, well, well- what have we here? I'll be gosh-darned, if it isn't another of my 30 minute "meals out of thin air" all over again!

Improvised from the last remainders in my fridge, a scoop from my jar of Turkish bulgur (that great stuff with the little, toasted bits of noodles in it!) and a little spice and raisins- and here was a great, tasty, hot meal in next to no time with next to no effort!

With a turkish, sweet pointy pepper and a small bulb of fennel to work with as the main ingredients for the dish I was about to dream up- of course it was going to need a little help to make it delicious. But not much! It was just a matter of deciding what!

So here we have it- the full line-up! 1 teacup of bulgur, 1 small bulb of fennel, 1 medium sweet pepper, 1 small onion, 1 small carrot, 1 small stalk of celery, 1 tablespoon of raisins, 1 tablespoon of Bharat spice, a little fresh parsley, salt, pepper and olive oil. A little bit of this and a little bit of that! But a whole lot of flavor and fun!

Tasty and spicy, but a mild and aromatic spice and not a fiercely hot kind of dish- this is one to please the whole family! 

The only thing is... this was enough for 2 servings to make 1 Saucy Chef happy- and not enough for a whole family! So, if you want to do that- you will have to do the math and scale-up those ingredients! But somehow I think you will be able to manage to do that... hehe!

Begin by cutting the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and frying them in a little olive oil, until the onion, the fennel and the celery become translucent, then add the Bharat, season with salt and pepper and fry together until everything is nicely coated.

And as soon as the spices begin to toast slightly- grab that bulgur and your kettle with some hot water and prepare to turn a few vegetables into a lovely meal!

Add plenty of boiling water into the frying pan, add the bulgur, stir it in well and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add more water, until the bulgur and vegetables are slightly submerged, then put on the lid and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Add a generous sprinkle of roughly chopped parsley and a handful of raisins, then return the lid and let it sit for 5 minutes more.

And there you have it- a dish packed with flavor and color, that will not have you sweating and working hard after a long day- which already is going to make you happy!

Serve with a generous sprinkle of those really young fennel greens and enjoy whilst it is still steaming hot!

This is a mild, sweet and fruity dish- perfumed with a gentle hint of spice and light and healthy as can be! And you all know how much I love that! I think maybe you all do too!