Eat Healthy and Cheap
Kisir, Turkish Bulgur Salad
Kisir is a fine bulgur salad from Turkey's southeast, built on tomato and pepper rather than dressed greens. Traditional versions carry a heavy pour of olive oil along with the tomato paste; blooming the paste in hot water instead still turns the grain rust red and still draws out the Aleppo pepper's fruit, just without the oil. Pomegranate molasses and lemon juice do the seasoning work salt usually does, and a full cup of parsley keeps the herbs from reading as garnish.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Bulgur, fine grind
- 3 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 clove Garlic, grated
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp Pomegranate molasses
- 4 Scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 Cucumber, finely diced
- 1 Fresh tomatoe, finely diced
- 1 cup Flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Mint, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped
Method
- Put the tomato paste and Aleppo pepper in a heatproof bowl and pour in 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) just-boiled water. Whisk until the paste dissolves into a rust-red broth. This stands in for the olive oil most kisir recipes fry the paste in: blooming it in hot water instead still pulls out its color and the pepper's fruit and heat.
- Stir the fine bulgur into the broth, cover the bowl, and let it sit for 15 minutes undisturbed. Fine bulgur does not need a stove, only enough hot liquid to absorb; it will swell to about double its size and turn tomato-red all the way through, not just on the surface.
- Fluff the bulgur with a fork to separate the grains, then spread it on a plate or wide bowl to cool to room temperature. Warm grain wilts the herbs before they even get folded in.
- Grate the garlic straight into the bulgur, then add the lemon juice and pomegranate molasses and stir well before adding the vegetables. Dressing the grain first seasons every strand instead of leaving the acid pooled at the bottom of the bowl.
- Fold in the scallions, cucumber, tomato, parsley, and mint. Chop the parsley fine and add the full cup: in kisir it is a vegetable, not a garnish.
- Taste and add more lemon juice or pomegranate molasses if the salad tastes flat; both are acids, and acid is what reads as seasoned here instead of salt. Scatter the walnuts over the top and serve at room temperature, or chill it and serve the next day, when the bulgur has pulled in even more flavor.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 230 calories, 7 g protein, 8 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.
