Bulgur Salad 4 College Cooking

Resourcefulness--a skill you must have if you are limited on funds and income, ie college students or low-income families dependent on SNAP dollars or other government supplementation or just a small paycheck!

Finding foods that are nourishing and filling while easy to store (and/or easy to make) can be a HUGE challenge!! What do you do if all you have is a room...not even a hot plate or other basic cooking utensils? How do you even begin to think of eating well? Eating healthy? 

A fantastic ingredient that can fulfill many of these functions is...BULGUR WHEAT! It is cheap, made in 15-20 minutes, provides volume and nutrition; and finally, has endless variations limited only by the creativity of your mind! 

This recipe functions as a meal or an awesome side dish. Make it sweet or savory! Whatever you do, make this a regular during the week, and experiment! If you lack some of the ingredients for the salad (dried fruits and nuts can be expensive) or dressing...that is optional as well, and the salad can be eaten with a drizzle of oil and lemon juice...but if possible, try this with the apple vinaigrette!

(Adapted from Healthy Lives Healthy Kitchens Conference by combining a couple of recipes into a merger of my own)

Bulgur Salad 4 College Cooking

Equipment:
Large Mixing Bowl
Chopping Board
Knife

Ingredients:

2 cups bulgur wheat, light colored
1 tsp of kosher salt
Boiling water to cover bulgur wheat approximately 1/4"

Dressing / Vinaigrette:
1 medium apple (honey crisp, red delicious), finely diced
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tbls orange juice
1 Tbls red wine vinegar
1 Tbls olive oil
3 Tbls vegetable / canola oil
3 Tbls honey
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp mint, finely chopped (optional)

Add-Ons / Flavor Bombs:
1/2 cup dried cherries and/or cranberries and/or currants (or fresh seasonal fruits)
1/2 cup dried apricots and/or dates and/or golden raisins
1/2 cup green onions, sliced to greens
1 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
(make sure you seed them yourself by cutting in half and pounding the peel with a knife to loosen seeds into a bowl)
1 cup feta, diced
1 cup toasted nuts (cashews, pine nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios)

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Combine bulgur wheat, salt, and boiling water into a large bowl.
3. Set aside x 20 minutes until tender and almost all of water is absorbed. Drain.

4. Combine apples, juices, vinegar, oils, salt, honey, and mint in a shaker or whisk in a medium bowl.
5. Add in flavor bombs, i.e. chopped dried fruits, green onions, feta.

6. Toss with dressing before serving.

7. Finish off with toasted nuts and another sprinkle of mint.