So Many Dishes

I love good tabbouleh. I love the mix of bulgur, tomatoes, and herbs, all brightened by lemon juice and olive oil. It’s a wonderful summertime dish. It’s easy to make, but also readily available in stores. The tabbouleh from Whole Foods is a go-to to for us. I’ve had main course versions that add chicken and feta, and those are good, too.

We tried a new bulgur-based salad that is every bit as good as tabbouleh, bulgur and chicken salad with pomegranate molasses. It was a simple dish to put together, but I’d make this again even if it required a lot of effort. It was that good.

The recipe is from Cook What You Have by Christopher Kimball, one of the Milk Street cookbooks. The premise of the book is to make a meal from ingredients that you have in your fridge and pantry. The introduction talks about staples like canned tomatoes, noodles, broth, and go-to spices. It also includes a list of “must-halves,” some of which are not in our fridge or cupboards on a regular basis. Yes, we always have Parmesan cheese in the refrigerator, as well as capers, but we only buy anchovies if we’re making a dish that calls for them, and it’s been years since we had any kimchi in the house.

One of the must-halves is essential for this recipe: pomegranate molasses. This we do have. I made another recipe that called for it,pomegranate molasses-glazed salmon. I love the taste of this ingredient, and it’s essential for this dish. When I checked the Whole Foods app, they list pomegranate molasses as available, but I bought my bottle on Amazon. I also sourced the bulgur from Amazon, since I wasn’t sure that the bulgur at Whole Foods was fine grind, nor that I’d have time to make an extra trip there; it’s been a busy week.

The recipe calls for cooked chicken. You certainly could use rotisserie chicken meat, but I poached and shredded a chicken breast early in the afternoon. I also chopped the peppers, parsley, garlic, and dried cranberries ahead of time. As a result, it only took 15 minutes to put the dish together after I poured the boiling water over the bulgur—and 10 of that was spent sipping an adult beverage while waiting for the bulgur to “cook.”

I made two changes: I didn’t include nuts and I switched bell pepper for chilies. I’ve discussed before that Ken doesn’t like nuts in dishes, and it really didn’t need it. I’m not big on the combination of sweet and spicy, but use Serrano or jalapeño chilies if you prefer.

This is going into our main dish salad rotation, especially for our hot South Florida summer. The leftovers were delicious for lunch, today, too.

Bulgur and Chicken Salad with Pomegranate Molasses

• 1 cup fine bulgur
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 bell pepper (any color), chopped OR 2 Serrano or jalapeño chilies, minced
• 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the bulgur, cranberries, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the boiling water, then cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Using a fork, fluff the bulgur mixture. Add the chicken, parsley, peppers, pomegranate molasses, and oil, and fold with a silicone spatula until well combined. If using almonds, stir in half of the almonds. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as desired. Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining almonds (optional). Drizzle with additional olive oil if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Happy eating!