Turkish Meal Mondays: Kısır

Turkish Meal Mondays are a glimpse into the food we enjoy here in Turkey, accompanied by a recipe.  Mondays are one of our favourite days, because they're Market Days. Ever since our first market day a year and a half ago we have only missed two, due to torrential down pour a few weeks ago.  Our trips to the market will continue to focus on selecting fresh and delish produce to use in our weekly Turkish recipes.  Get ready... This blog just became appealing to foodies. 


Kısır has been one of our favorite summer weather meals, here in Turkey. Our friend, Ilknür, introduced us to it, and makes the BEST version of it.  We love it so much that we served it at our wedding as a "Taste of Turkey."

It's a bulgur salad made with tomato and pepper pastes, green onions and parsley. Add a squirt of lemon juice, some mint, or some Nar Ekşili Sos (a pomegranate juice reduction that is used all over Turkey to add flavor and pep to everything from soup to meat marinades).

The recipe is quite easy, and would make another great introduction to Turkish foods.

Chop one bunch of green onions. 1 cup is enough but you can add more if you want.

Now take some fresh parsley, chop into pretty fine pieces, because no one likes a large piece of parsley ticlking their throat.

In a large bowl put 2 cups of fine grain bulgur. Pour boiling water over the top, (enough to cover) and let it sit until the water is absorbed. If the bulgur needs more water add more (no exact science in Turkish cooking). You can also place a lemon wedge in with the bulgur or a squirt of lemon will work nicely too.

Once your bulgur is ready you can add in the onions and parsley. Mix. 

Note:  If you're a bulgur expert you might have noticed that the bulgur pictured is actually coarse grain bulgur.  You got us.  We ran our of the fine grain, and didn't feel like going back to the store.  We figured course grain would be just as good.  We were wrong.  Oops.

Now add in some tomato and pepper paste (again I don't have exact measurements, start small then add to your liking). I do not add these in equal parts, too much pepper paste will make it oily. Mix it all up and add some salt and pepper to taste. 

To eat it we take fresh lettuce leaves, add some fresh mint leaves put a scoop of kısır on, wrap it up and enjoy. It is perfect for a warm afternoon.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups fine grain bulgur

1 bunch of green onions 

1/2 cup Chopped fresh Parsley, more to taste

lemon wedge or squirt of lemon juice

Tomato Paste about 1 cup maybe more maybe less

pepper paste about 1/2 cup, maybe more maybe less

Salt and pepper to taste

fresh mint

fresh lettuce

Directions:

Place bulgur in a large bowl. cover with boiling water and lemon juice. Let stand until bulgur is cooked through. Add onions, parsley, tomato paste, and pepper paste. Mix and let cool. Serve with lettuce and mint leaves.