Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Roasted Peppers, and Spiced Cumin

I used Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen again to find this recipe (pg. 268). I discovered bulgur in a Peter Berley Recipe and love its chewy texture! It reminds me of quinoa, but seems to be more fail-proof and has a more consistent texture. Again I made the whole recipe to yield leftovers, which seems it will work much better than the pasta from earlier this week.

Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Roasted Peppers, and Spiced Cumin Dressing

serves 4 as a main course

Fine-grain bulgur, sometimes labeled "good for tabbouleh," is essential to this recipe, because coarsely ground bulgur will not soften when soaked in boiling water. A late season tomato salad or Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes with Indian Flavors (page 212) complete this meal.

1 1/2 cups bulgur

3 cups boiling water

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

6 ounces drained jarred roasted red peppers, diced (about 1 cup)

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

1 medium head Bibb lettuce, leaves separated

4 pita breads, warmed and cut into wedges

1. Place the bulgur in a large bowl. Add the boiling water and set aside, stirring occasionally, until the bulgur has softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the bulgur, shaking the strainer and gently pressing out excess moisture. Return the bulgur to the bowl.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the lemon, honey, cumin, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil until the dressing is smooth.

3. Add the chickpeas, roasted peppers, and parsley to the bow with the drained bulgur and stir to combine. Drizzle the dressing over the bulgur mixture and toss to combine.

4. Line each individual plate with several lettuce leaves. Mound some bulgur salad over the lettuce and tuck some pita wedges into the salad at several laces around the plate. Serve.

We found this recipe to have plenty of spice! I would make extra dressing next time, maybe increase it by 50%. The ratio of beans and peppers to bulgur seemed satisfactory. Instead of serving atop cold lettuce, I would stir spinach in while the mixture is hot to wilt the spinach. A few substitutions I made was I used two peppers I roasted myself, 1 1/2 cups of beans I cooked myself, spinach instead of the Bibb lettuce, and I negated the pita. A tomato salad or the addition of oven dried tomatoes to the bulgur mixture would definitely complete this meal!