Side Salad

Tabouli is not what most people think of when they hear "side salad" but really, they should.

It's a great salad to go with grilled meat, as part of a tapas-style meal, or for a quick lunch all on its own.

(It also makes for a quick blog post when you've already done 5 hours of school and 6 hours of work)

Tabouli

What you need

• 1/2 c bulgar wheat (aka "cracked wheat")
• 1/2 c water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon (or lime) juice
• 1 c parsley
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-2 tbsp minced onion (I like red for the colour)
• other stuff...
  • mint
  • dill
  • oregano
  • tomato
  • sundried tomato
  • red or green pepper
  • cucumber
  • pine nuts or walnuts

What you gotta do:

Put the bulgar wheat into a heatproof bowl and add a bit of salt and pepper. Nuke the 1/2 c water until it's just boiling. If you have a tiny student-sized microwave it should take about 2 minjutes.

Pour the water over the bulgar and cover the bowl. If your bowl doesn't have a lid, a plate works fine. Leave this for about 10 minutes or so, while you chop some stuff.

So, really, the only things tabouli desperately needs (in my opinion anyway) is parsley and onion. If that's all you have, that's just fine. But a lot of the time it comes with a bunch of other things in it.

I happened to have some garlic (always have garlic), sundried tomatos, and some pine nuts so that's what I used.

After 10 minutes or so, your bulgar will be nice and fluffy and the kernels will have busted open. Fluff it up with a fork, and leave the lid off so it can cool a bit. I like my tabouli to be at about room temp, and by the time I've done everything, it's pretty much there. Transferring it to a cool bowl helps too.

If you're using nuts of any sort in your salad, they're much better if you've toasted them a bit. Heat a dry pan over medium heat for a couple minutes, then add the nuts. They only need about 3-5 minutes in the pan, but make sure you roll them around every minute or two so they don't burn.

Dump all your chopped stuff (parsley, onion, and whatever else you decided you wanted) into the bowl with the bulgar, and toss it all together. Herbs like mint and dill really work well in this salad, but they need to be fresh. If you feel like adding a dried herb, I suggest oregano.

Pour in the olive oil.

And lemon juice. Yup, I totally measured both. Didn't eyeball anything. Totally did.

Have a taste and add more lemon juice, olive oil, salt, or whatever it needs. If it needs anything.

Sprinkle the nuts on top.

I had this for dinner with some pickles, and then for lunch the next day. It'd a lot more filling than your typical iceburg lettuce side salad, and a lot more flavourful. Seriously, this and a bit of grilled chicken breast (man, what I wouldn't give for an apartment with a balcony so I could grill again) makes a perfect spring meal.

What kind of side salad do you usually make?

Undressed Stuffing... Unstuffed Dressing?

So, my Thanksgiving theme continues.  I’m trying to be helpful.  Plus, it gives me an excuse to enjoy all of my favorite sides on the lead up to the big day.  Besides, who decided we can only partake of stuffing (or is it dressing… since it’s not actually stuffed into anything?)  on turkey day?  I happen to know I’m not the only one with a fondness for the stuff.  Let me show you how I make mine. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

White bread
Cornbread
Sausage
1 medium onion
1 ½ cups diced celery
Sage
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup butter
1 cup chicken stock
1 egg
Cranberries (optional)
Salt & pepper

The first thing you need to do is get the white bread cubed and dried out.  I like to do that in the oven, especially with the humidity the way it is here.  Spread the cubes out on a baking sheet and bake them at 250° for about 20 minutes.

The bread should be crispy on the outside, but not browned.  Can you use already dried bread cubes from the store?  Sure!  I think it’s worth the effort, though, so that I can choose what kind of bread it is.  While those are cooling, we’ll move to the cornbread.  My local grocery store had these fabulous corn muffins, so I just used those.  If you want to make your own cornbread, knock yourself out.  Either way, just cut it into cubes.  It’s going to crumble somewhat in the process, but that’s fine.

Place the cooled white bread and the cornbread into a bowl with plenty of room for adding more ingredients and stirring them all together.  In my case, I had to use a pan because I didn’t have a bowl big enough. 

Next comes the sausage.  I use Beeler’s breakfast sausage.  In my book, there’s nothing better.  Not to mention, it’s all natural and they take good care of their pigs, and their customers.  If you can’t find it locally, you can order from them directly here.  (and if you do, be sure to get some of their Li’l Bites smoked sausages.  OMG they’re good!)

I had already used a third of the package for biscuits and gravy, so I had about ⅔ of a pound, which was perfect.  Go ahead and cook the sausage, breaking it up into smallish pieces in the process.

When it’s done, remove it from the pan and put in your onions and celery. 

 

Cook them until they are soft and translucent, then add the garlic.

Just stir it in and cook it for about a minute or so before returning the sausage to the pan.  Stir that in, and then turn off the heat.   

Now comes the most important part.  The thing that makes stuffing stuffing.  (or dressing dressing, if that’s what you call it)  Either way, you need sage.  It is what gives this dish its distinct flavor. 

Sage is a pretty potent herb, though, so you want little, tiny pieces distributed throughout.  Cut the leaves in half along the spine, then stack them up and slice very thinly. 

Separating the pieces with your fingers, sprinkle them over the sausage mixture. 

Now, smell your fingers.  Oh, don’t even go there.  Trust me, in this case, it’s a very good thing.  As you stir the sage into the hot mixture, your kitchen will suddenly begin to fill with the aroma of stuffing, rather than just sausage and onions.  Not that there’s anything wrong with those.  Ok, I got off track.  Allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes or so.  I had leftover cranberries from making cranberry sauce last week, so I threw some in.  It added a beautiful color and a bit of tang, which was nice. 

Once everything is cooled and stirred together, melt the butter and mix it with the chicken stock.  The mixture should end up being right around room temperature so you can whisk in the egg without cooking it.  Pour the whole thing over the sausage mixture. 

Stir everything together, and pour that over the bread. 

Toss until everything is evenly coated and distributed, then walk away.  Give the bread at least five minutes to absorb the liquid before pouring it into a 9x13 pan.  Press gently to even out the top and get rid of air pockets. 

Cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.  Yes, I know I forgot to tell you to preheat your oven.  It should be pretty obvious by now that Seeley and I are horrible at remembering to mention that step and completely incapable of getting all the ingredients into the “ingredients” picture.  Oh well, no one’s perfect, right?  So, back to the stuffing.  After 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  It should be browning around the edges and lightly golden on top. 

Give it 5 minutes or so to cool and set, and then dig in. 

Me?  I had it in a bowl, for dinner.  No turkey, no mashed potatoes, just stuffing.  Who says it can’t be a main course? 

So, dressing or stuffing?  Which is it in your house?