German Translation

Steak and Mediterranean Bulgar Salad

I was reading a blog that I came across recently called la petite cuisine. I have no idea where I found it or why I was initially attracted to it, but it's really lovely... and in German. Google, however, translated it for me! La petite cuisine was featuring some favorite blogs (I think), one of which was Ohhh... Mhhh..., also in German. I couldn't figure out how to get Google to translate this one, though. The picture on la petite cuisine accompanying the blurb about Ohhh... Mhhh... was this and it looked delicious! Maybe it's because I have Spring Fever (big time), but it looked light and summery and healthy. Just perfect. Only one problem: I couldn't read the website to find the recipe. But just from looking at the picture I thought "I can totally make that." Mom was visiting, so we hit the grocery store and got some dinner supplies...

The original plan was to use this bulgar wheat salad as a side to a yummy lamb dish from Ellie Krieger, but when we got to the grocery store, the lamb selection was minimal (to say the least) and EXPENSIVE. Did you know lamb is expensive? It is. Even on a college-kid-whose-mom-is-paying budget. We changed gears and bought 3 steaks. The steak selection also left much to be desired, so we ended up with a regular-thickness Ribeye and two thin-cut Ribeyes. My first thought about the thin-cut steaks was "meh." They looked like what my brother would call steak-ums. They still looked a little funny when they came off the grill, but Mom cooked them PERFECTLY and they stayed juicy and delicious. We're all about the simple steak preparation, so all we did was rub a little EVOO on both sides, add lots of salt and a whole bunch of pepper. That's it.

Oh, by the way, this meal was Q.U.I.C.K. Seriously. I think it took a total of 30 or 45 minutes to put it together.

Mediterranean Bulgar Salad

Recipe...

Ingredients:

1/2c. (dry measure) bulgar wheat

1 shallot, 1/2 minced, 1/2 in larger slices

1 zucchini or yellow squash, cut into bite-sized pieces

Olive oil

1 large roasted red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 1/2 Tbsp. pine nuts

1/8c. feta cheese crumbles

1 lemon

oregano (dried)

1) Cook the bulgar wheat according to package directions.

(You might notice that our bulgar turned out a little mushy. We're thinking it may have turned out better if we had followed the directions for making tabbouleh- cover bulgar wheat in a bowl with hot water and let sit for a while.)

2) Chop up half a shallot into larger pieces, one zucchini or yellow squash into bite-sized pieces. Heat a pan until quite warm, coat with EVOO and let them warm until it's hot enough that when you put the vegetables in, it will sizzle and the veggies will cook quickly. Cook until tender. In another pan, toast about 1 1/2 Tbsp. pine nuts.

3) Meanwhile, chop roasted red peppers into bite-sized pieces. Add to the cooked bulgar wheat. Add cooked zucchini or yellow squash and shallot. Crumble in some feta cheese (this is a good place to use reduced-fat feta). Add as much feta as is appetizing. We found that we did not need very much. Add toasted pine nuts.

4) Whisk together 1/4c. lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon), 1/2 minced shallot, 1 Tbsp. EVOO, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 tsp. dried oregano. Add this mixture to the bulgar salad a little bit at a time. Note: You can always add more, but I'd love to see you try to take some out. We used about half of the mixture.