This delicious appetizer, so simple to make, is traditionally offered before tea on special occasions.  In restaurants, it is often served as a meze (hors d’oeuvre) along with other salads made with fresh or roasted vegetables and of course, yogurt salads.  Bulgur is grown in South Eastern Turkey and exported worldwide.

What

1 cup of fine bulgur

1 cup boiling water

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons hot red pepper paste

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon pomegranate juice (or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)

Salad greens or boiled grape leaves

Tomato slices and flat leaf parsley.

How

Put *bulgur in a bowl.  Stir in the boiling water, a few spoonfuls at a time.  Cover and let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.  Add onion to bulgur and combine thoroughly.  Then stir in the other ingredients, seasoning to taste.  Line a serving dish with salad greens or boiled vine leaves and top with the bulgur mixture.

Garnish with sliced tomatoes and parsley leaves.  Serve at room temperature.

Recipe provided to Eat Smart in Turkey author Joan Peterson by Vedat Basaran, executive chef and manager of the luxurious Feriye restaurant on the Bosphorus in Istanbul.  Joan sent me a copy of her book several years ago and I have found it a useful reference on Turkish cuisine.

*Note:  be sure to use bulgur and not cracked wheat.