Full-Meal Tabbouleh

July 16, 2011 Leave a Comment

I love Tabbouleh.  I love how it is sort of health food but it still tastes good.  Yummy food with the added bonus of being healthy are amazing!

I am a person who has no guide (erh, besides the internet) to navigate my way through the “healthy food” world.  I’ve found more horrifyingly bland and nightmarishly textured food than anything that I’d consider eating again.  I’m not against healthy eating of even vegetarian dishes, I’m just very inexperienced in that area.    But you know what?  Tabbouleh is really good because you can fuss with it and make it a million different ways.  You can make it vegetarian, vegan, or omnivorous.  And it’s really good.

I know we are now in the middle of July, but I have been slacking hardcore on my posting here (two sons!  I plead the two sons defense!) so while the recipe I am about to post is delicious, it is definitely a cold-weather dish.  Oh well, it will give those of you melting in intense heat the urge to look forward to blood-freezing temperatures that force you to snuggle up in your domicile and make delicious food.

This recipe is a one dish meal.  It has a little meat, vegetables, and lots of luscious whole grains.  It’s fantastic.

Full-Meal Tabbouleh

My Recipe

3 cups bulgur wheat

2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, sliced

1-1/2 cups diced carrot

1 14.5 0z. can of diced tomatoes

1 14 oz. can tomato sauce

3 cups chicken stock

1-2 cups cooked chicken chunks

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. dill to place on top of dish when serving

The first thing you need to do is cook the bulgur wheat.

Put the bulgur wheat into a large bowl.  Pour 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil over it and then the boiling water.  Cover the bowl with a thick, clean kitchen towel and let the bowl steam for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, put a skillet over medium-low heat.  Pour in 1 Tablespoon olive oil and add the sliced onion.  Cook slowly.  What we’re going to do with these babies is caramelize them!

Fresh in the pan…..

TA-DAH!  15 minutes of careful cooking and stirring and you get these beautifully caramelized onions!

Now we need to cook those carrots.  You can nuke them in a microwave or boil them, but I really like steaming things.  So choose your preferred method and get those babies soft.

My carrots enjoyed a nice sauna.

I know that this dish looks really involved and complicated but all we’re doing is cooking the ingredients individually and then assembling them.

That doesn’t look too crazy, does it?  I love the sight of a busy stove-top.

Now get your favorite soup pot or dutch oven and put in the chicken stock, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes and get them nice and simmering.

Drain any excess liquid from the bulgur wheat and add it (the bulgur wheat, not the excess liquid) to the simmering liquid.  Add the carrots and onions.  Salt and pepper the mess to taste (that means you actually have to taste this in order to know if it’s up to par for you).

Now add the cooked chicken.  I don’t know how you plan to come across the cooked chicken, it’s entirely up to you.  This entire dish was thought up as a way to use up leftover meat on roast chicken carcasses.

Not so pretty after a couple days in the fridge, eh?

Add the chicken to the mess.  heat through and serve up.  Add a plop of dill on the top.  The dill cuts through the richness of the dish and adds a great taste when stirred in.

I know this dish has a lot of ingredients and it seems really involved and time-consuming.  It certainly isn’t a half-hour-to-the-table meal, but I probably only put in 45 minutes of work total.  While the bulgur wheat was steaming I was caramelizing the onions and steaming the carrots.  It all happens pretty quick actually so please don’t be intimidated.  I’m not talented enough to come up with a really complex recipe.

When the cold weather comes around again, I hope you give this dish a try.  Omit the chicken and replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock and you’ve got a terrific Meatless Monday dish as well!

Enjoy!

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Filed Under Main Dishes Tagged With food, how to, meatless monday, one dish meal, recipe, roast chicken, tabbouleh

Roast Chicken and Vegetables

April 17, 2009 6 Comments

This is a dish that I make all of the time.  It’s a dish that is satisfying in all four seasons.  I love it.

I always have at least one whole chicken in my freezer.  A chicken with the bones and skin still intact will have more flavor when you cook it.  The bones and skin lend a richness and a “chicken” taste.  I do keep a bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts as well, but when I prepare those, there has to be a lot of hoopla to make them appetizing and they certainly aren’t tasting like a chicken.  I like to roast a whole chicken or cut it up and make Coq Au Vin or fried chicken.  Whole chickens are good.

I use a roasting pan for this dish with a rack.  This is so that the chicken will cook over the vegetables and drip lovely yummy juices all over them and make them gorgeous.  I think I got it at WalMart for $10.  I use it ALL the time and I got a great big one so that I can make my 20lb. Thanksgiving turkey.  Today I made a 6lb. chicken.

Vegetables for Roasting

Cut up 4 large potatoes, 5-6 carrots, 1-2 onions, and any other root vegetable (like parsnips) that you’d like to roast.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and the sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Now clean your chicken making sure you remove the neck and giblets from the cavity.  Wash the skin and pat it dry with a paper towel.  Put it on rack and place the rack in the roasting pan over the vegetables.

Depending on the size of your chicken, you add a quartered onion, 3 cloves of garlic cut in half, and 1 quarter of a lemon.  Since these won’t be eaten, you don’t need to peel them or anything.  Just shove them up in there. You’ll also need to bend the wings back on themselves..just fold them behind like the chicken is relaxing.  You don’t want them to burn.

Now this part os going to sound weird, but trust me…it adds so much.  Where I am from, you would have a hard time finding a kitchen that doesn’t keep their bacon grease stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in a crock on the counter.  It’s an easy way to add a smoky flavor to dishes without having to waste some perfectly good bacon that would go better on a sandwich or with eggs.  Melt about 3 Tblsp. of bacon grease and baste it over the chicken.  This will make the skin crispy and OH SO DEEEEELICIOUS.  You could also just lay 3 strips of bacon over the top of the bird but, again, I’d rather save my bacon for better things.  Add a little bit of salt and pepper to the skin.

Dressed Chicken

Now put some foil over the whole thing and place it in a 375 degree F oven.  Again, depending on the size of your bird you’ll need to cook until done.  For my little bird I cooked it covered for 2 hours and then uncovered it for 30 minutes.  When you take the roasting pan out of the oven, take the chicken (still on the rack) out of the pan and place on large cooking board or plate and cover with aluminum foil to rest.  The meat needs to rest for at least 15 minutes.  Stir the vegetables and incorporate all the flavors.

Roasted Chicken

Besides the roasted vegetables, I always like to serve a salad with this dish.  Some simple greens or a Spring Mix are perfect.  I also always like to make my own vinaigrette or dressing.  We’ll talk about those later.  For now just use up that bottled crap you’re using now, but don’t plan to buy any more.

A Gorgeous Meal

This meal is so good and it makes the house smell so damned good.  When you’re done picking most of the meat off of this, DON’T DISCARD THAT CARCASS!  We’re making chicken stock tomorrow…and you need a chicken carcass for that!  And those veggies taste magnificent cold as a quick midnight face-stuff.  Enjoy!

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Filed Under Main Dishes, Side Dishes Tagged With bacon grease, chicken, delicious, recipe, roast chicken, roasted vegetables, vegetables, whole chicken