Bulgur : Greek, healthy, but… forgotten.

Bulgur : Greek, healthy, but… forgotten.

Bulgur or as it frequently called as Groats, is one of the most nutritious foods you can find on the supermarket shelves, it's tasty, has a wide range of vitamins, it helps you maintain your figure, and it can even lower your blood pressure!

We owe the existence of bulgur to the Mediterranean civilizations that use it widely in their daily diet. It a product of the kernel of grains, which has undergone thermal processing, drying, and has been crumbled. Bulgur has almost zero fats, very few calories, and is a great source of complex carbohydrates.

Bulgur, groats, berries, or simply ground wheat. Its name can be different depending on where we are, but its nutritional value remains the same—and it's quite high. The weird thing is, though, that despite the incredible range of nutritional elements, we are rarely using it in our cooking. Processed foods like bread, pastries, rice, and pasta have dominated our tables these last few decades. So, while in the past it was used in the pilaf of our dolmas, today we're reminded of its existence only through old traditional recipes.

Why you should choose it :

• Greek bulgur is a cereal that's rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates. You can use it to replace white rice and pasta, especially if you want to lose weight. In comparison to other cereals, it has a lower glycaemic index, which means that its consumption raises blood glucose much more smoothly, so it's considered an excellent source of carbohydrates for diabetics.
• Moreover, because of its lower glycaemic index, it's considered to have a high saturation index, which means that it can make you feel fuller in comparison to other sources of carbohydrates, like rice and potatoes, while giving you the same energy.
• It contains more fiber than white rice and pasta, as well as great amounts of vitamins belonging to the B complex, like thiamine, riboflavin, and especially niacin, which are all necessary for a balanced metabolism and the correct function of the neurons, that is, of the brain. Besides those vitamins, it also has vitamin E, which aids the function of the cardiovascular system, it has three times as much potassium and four times as much phosphorus as pasta and white rice, and great amounts of minerals like iron, magnesium, and zinc, as well as trace elements like selenium, which has an antioxidizing function. Finally, regular consumption of groats can lead, in the long term, to the lowering of high blood pressure.

Which to choose :

In grocery stores and healthy food stores, you'll find coarse and fine groats. Even though there's no general rule for what you have to use in what kind of dish, it's better to avoid using coarse bulgur for soups and thin for garnish.

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Preservation

Preserving it doesn't require any special preparation. You just store it like pasta or rice in a cool and dark place, away from the sun and moisture. You should keep it in a glass jar that's airtight, and not a plastic one.

How to prepare it

For starters, you can use it raw or cooked. If you want to use a small quantity (1 cup for example) raw or in cold dishes like salads, put it in warm water for 30–40 minutes. If you want to use more, you'll need to leave it in the water for about an hour. If, on the other hand, you want to use it in hot dishes, wash the amount you'll need under cold water and put it in the pot 15–20 minutes before the cooking's done. Keep in mind that bulgur "pull in" liquids, so you should put a bit more water to boil so that your food doesn't end up too dry. You should also take care not to leave it in water or boil it for too long, because it'll lose its flavour.

Bulgur Tabbouleh Salad

Fresh Bulgur Salad

1/2 bunch of Parsley
2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 tablespoon of lemon juice 

Salt
Directions: Soak the bulgur in water for 30 minutes, drain well, and put it into a bowl. Chop the tomatoes, the cucumber, the pepper, and the parsley, and put it in the same bowl with the bulgur. Mix the ingredients well and sprinkle with salt. Finally, mix the olive oil with the lemon juice and pour it over the salad. Let it sit for half an hour to a full hour and then serve.

Enjoy !!!