If you follow my adventures, you will know that I fell in love with Turkey the moment Julia and I landed in Istanbul. The culture, the history, the climate, the architecture, the people and of course the food are out of this world!
While I cannot in any way say I’m an expert in Turkish cuisine, I can say I am an enthusiastic student. I have been cooking for a long time to understand flavour profiles and then be able to make my own versions of dishes. This is the case for this delicious bulgur salad.
What I love about this salad is that it is so easy to make and it is as flavourful as they come. I love using new ingredients and one of them here is the red pepper paste (I prefer the spicy one), as well as pomegranate molasses.
This salad could be related to Lebanese Tabouleh, but in the case of Kisir, the cracked wheat is the main ingredient, rather than a supporting actor. As we are using fine cracked bulgur, the only thing we need to do is soak it in hot water for a few minutes and the rest is just adding all the ingredients. Granted, there is a fair bit of chopping to do, but it is well worth it for the results.
There are many ways to make this salad; some people sauté onion and then add them to the bulgur, some people omit the red pepper paste and use tomato paste instead, and instead of pomegranate molasses they use lemon juice. These are all fine substitutes, but I like a lot of flavour and a moderate amount of heat, so I use the spicy red pepper paste as well as tomato paste and I love the sour note of the pomegranate molasses. As for vegetables, I like tomatoes, green onions, cucumber and a good amount of chopped parsley and mint. Balance things off with lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil and you have one of the easiest and tastiest salads.
A note on substitutions: if you cannot find the hot red pepper paste, use tomato paste and add some chili flakes for heat; if you cannot find fine bulgur, use regular couscous; and if you cannot find pomegranate molasses, use lemon juice instead.
Kisir makes a great addition to a meze menu, it also makes a great side, served as is or on lettuce leaves. Even better, this salad improves if you make it ahead, so you can make it part of your weekly lunch repertoire.
KISIR
Turkish Bulgur Salad
3/4 cup fine bulgur (cracked wheat)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 Tbsp Turkish hot red pepper paste
3/4 Tbsp tomato paste
3/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1 large Roma tomato, diced
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup torn mint leaves
Juice of 1/2 lemon, or more to taste
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and cracked pepper to taste
In large bowl, place bulgur and add boiling water. Stir it in and let it soften for 10-15 minutes, then fluff with a fork and let cool.
Once bulgur is cool, add hot pepper and tomato pastes, mix in until they are well distributed and then add green onions, tomato, cucumber, parsley mint, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Mix everything very well and serve.
Serves 4-6.