Bulgur Burgers with Lime Mayonnaise

This week while John is out of town I decided to see how I would do as a vegetarian. I would not attempt this experiment otherwise because my husband likes his meat and you should hear the complaints I get when I cook something without meat. It's now Thursday and I haven't had any meat since my ham sandwich for lunch on Saturday. So far, I'm not really missing the meat!

The situation was greatly helped by a recipe that appeared in my most recent issue of Gourmet, which arrived a week ago (how timely). It was for bulgur veggie burgers. I love bulgur and I love veggie burgers. I had almost everything I needed already and a quick trip to the Chelsea Market netted me a couple of limes, pinto beans, and some wonderful-looking multigrain buns from Ed's Bread. I decided to make the burgers for dinner on Saturday.

(Photo from Gourmet since I couldn't take a picture of my own.)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped onion, divided
• 1 Tbsp olive oil plus additional for brushing
• 1/2 cup bulgur
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 3/4 cup walnuts (2 1/2 oz)
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup packed cilantro sprigs
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp grated lime zest
• 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
• 4 slices multigrain bread or buns
  

Cook half of onion with 1/4 tsp salt in oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add bulgur and water and cook, covered, over low heat until water is absorbed, 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in beans and soy sauce.

Pulse bulgur mixture, walnuts, garlic, cilantro, cumin, cayenne, a rounded 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and remaining onion in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and chill at least 20 minutes. While mixture chills, stir together mayonnaise, zest, and juice. Form rounded 1/2 cups of mixture into 4 (3 1/2-inch-diameter) patties.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then cook patties, carefully turning once, until golden brown, about 8 minutes total.

Of course I tweaked the recipe. I used flat-leaf parsley instead of cilantro (I like the taste better), I only used 1 tbsp of soy sauce, I cooked the patties on the stove because I don't have a perforated grill sheet, and I used buns instead of making open-faced sandwiches. I also found out very fast that attempting to form the mixture into patties immediately after processing was next to impossible. The mixture is much too gummy and sticky and I ended up with a huge mess all over my hands and a misshapen glob instead of a patty. I made one patty for dinner that night and put the remainder into the fridge in a bowl. The next day I made a patty for lunch and found that the mixture, now that it was thoroughly chilled, was so much easier to handle. Thus I altered the instructions from the original recipe to include adequate chilling before making the patties.

The multigrain buns from Ed's Bread were as yummy as they looked in the store, and I toasted them while the patties cooked and spread the lime mayonnaise on them while still warm. I topped the patties with some fresh tomato slices and a couple of romaine lettuce leaves. Can I just say this was one of the most delicious things I have eaten in a long time? I had a patty for dinner on Saturday, lunch on Sunday, and dinner both Monday and Tuesday. The recipe made enough for four patties and I parsed the mixture out so I had it every day for four days. It was that good. I will definitely make this again!

Couscous with Lime-Scallion Sauce

After a major overindulgence at lunch (a catered party to celebrate someone's 10th anniversary with my company) today, I was ready for something a little lighter for dinner. I picked up two yellowfin tuna steaks at Plum Market and whipped this up as a side dish to go with the grilled fish. I just wanted something light and fluffy but with a vegetable component as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

Nothing like freshly chopped vegetables!

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil; add the couscous, salt, and oil. Remove from the heat; let stand until the water is absorbed, about five minutes. Fluff with a fork. In a large bowl, combine the bell pepper, carrot, scallions, lime juice, parsley, and cumin. Add the couscous and toss to combine. Refrigerate, covered, until chilled.

I admit I did not allow the couscous to chill for the recommended three hours. We would not have eaten until 10:00 at that rate. It was fine anyway. The grilled tuna steaks came out perfectly and the meal was just what I wanted: light yet satisfying and flavorful. We had a 2006 Beaulieu Vineyards (California) Pinot Noir with our meal.

Rosemary-Garlic Pork Chops, Roasted Broccoli, and Bulgur Pilaf

Friday night we had rosemary-garlic pork chops, oven-roasted broccoli, and bulgur pilaf for dinner. My most recent issue of Cook's Illustrated had an intriguing recipe for roasted broccoli. Cook's Illustrated is one of the most useful, knowledgeable food magazines available. I trust them completely. If they promised to "transform" broccoli, why, I had to try it. I tolerate broccoli in the best of circumstances; could I find a recipe that would make me like broccoli?

First, though, I had to tend to the pork chops. I bought some thick-cut chops last week at Polly's Country Market which turned out to be thicker than anything even Jeff the Butcher at the New Chelsea Market has on display. OK, so they were more like pork steaks.

Rosemary-garlic rub for two pork chops:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
  

Mash garlic into a paste (I used the back of a fork to do so) with a pinch of salt, then stir together with rosemary, olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over chops.

The pork chops, rubbed with the rosemary-garlic paste and ready for the grill. We grilled them over medium-high direct heat (gas grill) for about 5 1/2 minutes per side followed by 5 minutes of rest on the counter. They were fully cooked through but not overdone. Take into account the thickness of your pork chops when grilling. There's nothing worse than dry, overdone pork. I rarely cook meat by temperature and only use my meat thermometer when I cook something really large such as a roast. For everything else I cook by time and use the "finger test" for doneness

Now, for the roasted broccoli (recipe for 4 servings):

• 1 large head broccoli (about 1 3/4 lbs)
  
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and preheat oven to 500 degrees with rack in pace (I forgot this step, and only put the baking sheet in the oven after it had already heated up; it didn't seem to have a negative effect). Cut broccoli at juncture of florets and stems and remove outer peel from stalk. Cut stalk into 2- to 3-inch lengths and each length into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Cut crowns into 4 wedges (if 3-4 inches in diameter) or 6 wedges (if 4-5 inches in diameter). Place broccoli in large bowl; drizzle with olive oil and toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, and pepper; toss to combine.

Once the oven with baking sheet inside has reached 500 degrees, quickly remove sheet from oven. Transfer broccoli to baking sheet and spread evenly, placing flat cut sides down. Return sheet to oven and roast until stalks are well browned and tender and florets are lightly browned, 9 to 11 minutes. Serve immediately.

I left out the stalks and just used the florets when I made this. I think I will use the stalks next time as the end result was even more than I'd hoped for. It was indeed broccoli that didn't taste like broccoli. Even John ate a piece.

The broccoli, tossed with the oil, sugar, salt, and pepper, ready to go in the oven.

Pork chops, off the grill and resting.

I've become enamored of using less common grains as side dishes. Grains such as quinoa, bulgur, and brown rice. Bulgur, especially. Bulgur is cracked wheat which has been essentially left whole, yielding a higher fiber and protein content than other, more refined grains. I like it for its nutty flavor and robust texture. It lends itself well to being mixed with other ingredients. For this dinner I decided to make bulgur pilaf with dried apricots since the recipe was conveniently on the same page of Gourmet Magazine as the recipe for the rosemary pork chops. This pilaf recipe as written serves 4 (I halved it to feed the 2 of us).

• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped

Heat olive oil in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add spices and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add bulgur, water, and apricots, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

The finished product.

Of course, no meal would be complete without a glass of wine and a cat on my lap. Wine: Acacia Pinot Noir (Sonoma, California) 2004. Cat: Darwin.