BULGUR SALAD (UNDER THE TOSCAN SUN, 1)

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN: AT HOME IN ITALY is a memoir by Frances Mayes. In this book the author recounts the purchase of her home, Bramasole, in Tuscany. She tells about all the adventures she and her partner had in renovating the house and working in its gardens while enjoying the sights and food of Tuscany. First published in 1996, this memoir helped in starting the worldwide Tuscan-mania that doesn’t seem to fade. A must read if you are planning a holiday in Tuscany or you want just escape a boring raining weekend in winter. But what a  Turkish recipe, as Kısır (bulgur salad) is, has to do with Tuscany and its sun? The fact is that at the moment I am in my home in Tuscany, enjoying the lovely panorama and the fresh vegetable that my father (healthy 85 years old-thanks to the olive oil) grows in the garden. I had fresh tomato, parsley, onions, salad from the garden, excellent organic olive oil from our trees and some fine grounded bulgur I brought from Turkey… The next thing to do was to prepare kısır a typical Eastern Turkey recipe but with fresh, zero-km ingredients from my Tuscan garden. The freshness of the ingredients and the quality of the olive oil (Tuscan olive oil is less acid than average Turkish olive oils), added extra flavor and texture to this recipe, but I assure you it is tasty also with market-fresh ingredient. If you are gluten intolerant, you can use quinoa  instead of bulgur, it taste beautifully also with quinoa that add a crunchy texture to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 spring onions (chopped) and 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 plum tomatoes, finely diced
• 2 cups boiling water
• the juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp mild chilli flakes or Turkish pul biber
• 1 cup bulgur
• 5 tbsp chopped parsley
• salt to taste
• 2 handful of chopped green salad leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the water and when it boils, pour it on the bulgur, let it cool
2. Heat oil in a small saucepan over low-medium heat
3. Add the onion, and sauteé for a few minutes, until soft
4. add the tomato paste and mix well and let simmer for 5 more minutes
5. When the bulgur is cool and soft, add all the chopped ingredients
6. Season your salad with lemon juice, chilli and salt
7. Let it set for at least two hours in the fridge.
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