TNT: Bulgar, Carrot & Cheese Casserole

[urmaniac13]

We were in a mood for some bulgar for dinner today but didn't have fresh tomatoes to make Tabouleh. Therefore we decided to try out something new. We came up with this recipe and it was wonderful!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of bulgar wheat
• 2 med-large potatoes
• 300g/10,5oz carrots
• 100g/3,5oz smoked bacon, well cooked and crumbled
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 bayleaves
• 1 egg
• 100-150g mozzarella, sliced
• bread crumbs
• grated parmigiano
• Provencal herb mix (or mixture of rosemary, thyme, majoram, oregano)
• s&p
• evoo

1. peel and cut potatoes and carrots in small cubes. Boil them with just enough water, garlic and bayleaves for about 5-6min. Drain, remove the bayleaves and mash them in a large bowl.

2. Toast the bulgar in a skillet dry, as soon as they take on a golden colour and you start to smell the toasted aroma (be careful not to burn them, which can happen quite quickly) pour 1 cup (or same volume of the bulgar) of water. Mix well. When the water is boiling and get well absorbed by bulgar (only takes a few minutes) cut the heat.

3. Blend in the bulgar, egg, bacon, salt & pepper into the mashed potatoes/carrot mixture.

4. Brush a baking pan with evoo, then sprinkle breadcrumbs on the surface. Then lay out 1/2 of the bulgar mixture evenly. Lay out the sliced mozzarella to cover the surface, then spread out the rest of the mixture over the mozzarella. Cover the top with a mixture of the breadcrumbs and parmigiano.

5. Bake in the oven at 200C°/400F° for 20minutes, or until golden brown.

Some idea for a little variation. This was delicious as is, but the next time we would like to try it with some chopped and sautèed scallion and/or mushrooms.

Buon Appetito!!

 

[Constance]

That sounds really good. I know bulgar is a grain, but that's all I know about it. Could someone educate me a bit?

 

[urmaniac13]

That sounds really good. I know bulgar is a grain, but that's all I know about it. Could someone educate me a bit?

Bulgar (also known/spelled as bulgur, burghul, bourghul) is a parboiled quick cooking version of cracked wheat dried and ground into tiny morsels. It is widely used in Middle eastern/Mediterranean region. One of the best known recipes is Tabouleh(or Tabouli), a delicious, satisfying salad with bulgar, tomatoes, parsley, lemon etc. (it has been discussed here) I have been using them mainly for this salad, but as we were doing some research for a new recipe yesterday we discovered it can be very versatile, and has many possibilities to explore, using them as pilaf, stir fries also different version of salad etc. It is a bit tricky doing a research due to the varied spelling, but there are many diverse recipes out there.
The basic preparation is to use the same volume of bulgar/water (1 cup-1 cup for example), either pouring the boiled water to bulgar, cover and let it steam for 20-30 min., or first toast them dry in a skillet, then add the water, let it get absorbed as it boil. Then you can take it from there using your imagination and fancy. It is easy to prepare, go with so many different ingredients and delicious, it will be well worth an experiment!!