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Toasted Bulgur with Tomato and Mint

Toasted Bulgur with Tomato and Mint

By Dimitri DemopolousOctober 17, 2023

  • Makes
    4 servings
  • Cook Time
    40 minutes

The Armenian bulgur salad called eetch is reminiscent of tabbouleh, but it’s grain-centric rather than herb-forward. It inspired this tomatoey bulgur side. We build flavor into the dish in a couple ways. We toast the bulgur—make sure to use coarse bulgur, not fine—to accentuate its sweet, wheaty notes. Then we brown the tomato paste for deeper color and greater flavor intensity. To make this more substantial, we like to stir blanched green beans into the finished bulgur and finish it with any or all of the optional garnishes.

Ingredients
  • 1½

    cups coarse bulgur

  • 3

    tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1

    medium red bell pepper OR 2 medium wax peppers, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped

  • 3

    medium garlic cloves, minced

  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

  • ¼

    cup tomato paste

  • 1

    teaspoon Aleppo pepper OR sweet paprika

  • ¾

    cup lightly packed fresh mint OR fresh flat-leaf parsley OR a combination, finely chopped

Step 1

In a medium saucepan over medium, toast the bulgur, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Step 2

In the same pan over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the bell pepper, garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and Aleppo pepper, then cook, stirring, until the paste browns and slightly sticks to the pan, 1 to 3 minutes. Stir in the bulgur, then add 2¼ cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce to medium-low and cook without stirring until the bulgur has absorbed the liquid, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Step 3

Transfer the bulgur to a wide, shallow bowl and cool until warm, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mint, then taste and season with salt and black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Step 4

Optional garnish: Pomegranate molasses OR finely chopped walnuts OR crumbled feta cheese OR a combination