Cook, Eat and Tweet: Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf with Caramelized Onion

Right before the holidays I participated in a virtual potluck with five other bloggers to share recipes from a new cookbook, An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky. Not only did I share a recipe right from the book for Falafel, but I also shared an in-depth review of this cookbook; which by the way is absolutely gorgeous and full of a lot of useful information regarding Middle Eastern cooking (for my full review and the Falafel recipe click here).

As part of this Kitchen Play Cookbook Tour, we are now hosting our first interactive event where you all can participate! I invite you to join these five bloggers and I on Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 4 PM EST to participate in a live Cook, Eat, and Tweet.

At this live Twitter event we will all be simultaneously cooking another recipe from Faith’s cookbook, Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf with Caramelized Onion (recipe below). I encourage you to participate and Cook, Eat, and Tweet along as we all cook and feast on this dish together! During the event you can post any cooking/recipe questions you may have and we will all be there to answer. Or you can share your comments about the progress of the dish as you cook it. I also encourage you to snap photos along the way and share them on Twitter. After the event, Kitchen Play will be featuring some of YOUR photos in a recap of the event! Just use hashtag #AnEdibleMosaic to follow along during the event and to tag your photos.
Be sure and register for the Cook, Eat and Tweet here so we know you are coming!

This live Cook, Eat, and Tweet should be loads of fun! I am very excited to cook with you all and see all of your completed dishes!

NOTE: Most of the ingredients in the recipe below are very common and readily available at most grocery stores. However, I did have some difficulty finding bulgur wheat. My general grocery store sold it by the rice but was sold out this weekend. Another more specialty grocery store in my area, had it but sold it with the ‘hot cereals.’ I also found the pods cardamom in the bulk spice bins of my store.

Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf with Caramelized Onion

Printable Version

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes Wait Time: 10 minutes Serves: 4-6

1 ¹/3 cups (275 g) dried brown lentils (or 2 cans brown lentils, rinsed and drained)

6 cups (1.5 liters) water

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

2 large onions, quartered and thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

2 pods cardamom, cracked open

2 cloves
2 teaspoons ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (185 g) coarse-ground bulgur wheat

1½ cups (300 ml) boiling water
Plain yogurt (optional, for serving)

Sort through the lentils to remove any small stones or pieces of dirt, and then rinse with cold water in a colander. Bring the rinsed lentils and the water to a boil in a lidded medium saucepan. Cover the saucepan, turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook until the lentils are tender but not mushy, about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water as necessary so that they’re always immersed; strain.

While the lentils cook, heat the oil and the butter in a large skillet over moderately-high heat; add the onion and sauté until completely softened but not yet browned, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer half the onion to a small bowl and set aside. Continue cooking the remaining onion until deep caramel in color, about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water as necessary if the onion starts to get too dark. Set aside.

Put half a kettle of water on to boil. Transfer the sautéed onion (not the caramelized onion) to a medium saucepan. Add the bay leaf, cardamom, clove, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute. Add the bulgur and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Add the boiling water, turn the heat up to high, and bring to a rolling boil.

Give the bulgur a stir, then cover the saucepan, turn the heat down to very low, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes (do not open the lid during this time). Turn the heat off and let the bulgur sit 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork and gently stir in the lentils. Taste and add additional salt, pepper, and olive oil if desired.

Transfer to a serving dish and top with the caramelized onion. Serve with plain yogurt to spoon on top, if using.

Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.