Bulgur with Dried Fruit and Toasted Pine

Bulgur with Dried Fruit and Toasted Pine

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 cup medium or coarse bulgur
11/2 cups Vegetable Stock or purchased stock
1 large carrot, thickly sliced
3/4 cup chopped dried figs, stemmed if necessary

Directions:
1 (1-inch) cinnamon stick
1/2 cup pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 scallions, rinsed, trimmed, and chopped
1. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and
cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Scrape mixture
into the slow cooker.
2. Add bulgur, stock, carrots, figs, and cinnamon stick to the slow cooker, and stir
well. Cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours or on High for 2 to 3 hours, or until liquid is
absorbed.
3. While bulgur cooks, place pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat. Toast
pine nuts, shaking the pan frequently, for 3 minutes, or until browned. Set aside.
4. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. To serve, season to taste with salt and pepper,
sprinkle each serving with pine nuts and scallions, and serve hot.
Note: The dish can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated, tightly
covered. Reheat it, covered, in a 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until hot.
Variation:
Substitute dried apricots or raisins for the dried figs.
Bulgur (pronounced BULL-gurr) is a wheat kernel that has been steamed, dried, and crushed. It’s
similar to cracked wheat and can be used in the same way. It has a chewy texture and comes both
coarse and fine. Grains such as bulgur are dried but can spoil if they become too moist. It’s important
to store them in an airtight container in a dry place, or keep them frozen.
T
he range of slow cooker desserts is limited, there’s no doubt about it. The slow
cooker cannot produce what pastry chefs define as an authentic cake. Cakes need the
dry heat of an oven, and they need a higher temperature than that generated by a slow
cooker, even one set on High. But what can be created are delicious dishes that are
technically baked puddings but have the dry texture of a cake.
That’s why the batters for the cake recipes in this chapter are much thicker than
those for conventional cakes, because batters baking in a hot oven release moisture
into the oven as they bake; they need to “dry out.” The reverse is true for slow-cooker
cakes. The steam generated by the cooking process becomes part of the cake and
moistens it as it cooks.
Puddings of all types, not just ones masquerading as cakes, are perfect slow-cooker