Bulgar Pilaf With Chestnuts and Spicy Tangerine Brown Butter

"Browned butter is the secret force in Turkish cooking, says Ms. Akin, an expert in Ottoman palace cuisine. This is from a cooking column by Melissa Clark in the 12/5 edition of the New York Times. I reduced the oil and butter (or will as soon as I make this recipe). Use 1 and 4 tablespoons, respectively, if you'd prefer."
 
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Ready In:
40mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Heat oil with 1 teaspoon butter in a 3 quart saucepan. When butter melts, add onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add bulgur and allspice, and saute for 2 minutes longer.
  • Stir in the broth, chestnuts and raisins, and bring to a vigorous boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook until bulgur is tender, all liquid is absorbed and there appear to be holes or "eyes" (when it looks at you, it's done) in the surface of the bulgur, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Turn off heat, place a clean dish towel or paper towel between top of pot and lid, and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes longer.
  • Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a small skillet. When white foam falls to the bottom of the pan and starts to smell nutty (about 3 minutes, but timing will depend on the amount of butter you use), add zest and red pepper. Cook for 30 seconds longer, then turn off heat.
  • To serve, mound pilaf onto a platter and drizzle butter and red pepper mixture on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and garnish with dill.

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Reviews

  1. This was very delicious! There were so many flavors going on here that melded together beautifully. I couldn't find any chestnuts, so I used cashews instead. Also, I drizzled the butter mixture over each individual serving and then sqeezed a little tangerine juice over it. Yum!!
     
  2. DELICIOUS. The flavours are divine, and its far easier than I thought it would be. (It looks so hard to a noob like me!) I used marg and paprika instead of the chilli. Healthy, scrummy, different - my only complaint is that there isn't enough of those perfect flavours that so wonderfully meld together and compliment each other! I would suggest making 2 tablespoons of the butter dressing with a teaspoon of orange zest and 1/2 teaspoon of chilli per serving. It may be less pretty, but I'd serve the butter on the side so that you don't have some bits all yummily flavoured ans some plainer parts. I'd also chop up the chestnuts into bitesize pieces - mine were whole. Thanks so much! <3, the NOOBchef.
     
  3. Divine dish for my meatless meal night! Most might make this as a side but since I'm regularly cooking for one, this was great for me for a main dish. I don't have a regularly scheduled 'meatless meal' day, but I try to incorporate the idea from time to time, especially since I started eating healthier to lose weight a couple of years ago. Since I already achieved my goal and have kept it off for a year, I went ahead with the larger amount of butter and oil, but it would be very tasty without the extra fat. (my nutrition numbers would be different with the slight change, which is fine) I used chili powder for the 'spice' and I used real roasted chestnuts (I'm probably the only person around who had them on hand, lol). The Beau loaned out our camera! :( But I still have more fresh chestnuts that I have to use up before they turn and I know The Beau, aka The Picky Eater, would love this dish. I'll serve it for him as an accompaniment to something, and can't wait to make it again. Thanks Kumquat the Cat's Friend!
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Clockwise from upper left, my dear friends Cranberry, Quincy, Kumquat and Kiwi. All of our cats were born in the wild and adopted by us. Zaar Chefs I have met so far: Elmotoo, justcallmeToni, ~Rita~, Midwest Maven, Bird&amp;Buddha (both of them) and most recently, Ms*Bindy from upstate New York:) Wonderful, sweet, friendly people and great chefs! Most relevant thing to mention here is that I am a vegetarian, and recently became a&nbsp;vegan&nbsp;(almost 100%). To put vegetables and other things not meat or fish on the table I work as an actuary (in my case anyway, a combination of statistician, number-cruncher and/or programmer). For fun I like to travel. Just came back from&nbsp;Namibia, a peaceful democracy in Africa with lots of animals! Got some terrific pictures of lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinocerous, hyenas, all kinds of antelopes, giraffes and zebras. Namibia is the second most sparsely populated country per square mile, just behind Mongolia. Update:&nbsp; We went to Italy this Spring.&nbsp; We had lots of pizza and pasta.&nbsp; The pizza is so much better in Italy, particularly the crust.&nbsp; The Amalfi coast was absolutely beautiful.&nbsp; Spectacular natural scenery (Canada and Alaska are really beautiful, Patagonia in Chile is sublime, Iceland is unique) has been my latest passion as far as travel destinations but I have seen quite a few big cities too (Paris, Berlin, London and Madrid to name a few). On my bulletin board at work I keep a list of every country I've visited (other than the U.S. of course). So far I've made it to five continents: Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and North America of course. I've got only two other continents to conquer:) I don't usually have difficulty finding vegetarian dishes here in the U.S. or overseas, but finding vegan dishes is much harder. I have no kids, just cats, Kumquat, Cranberry, and more recently Quincy and Kiwi. They are purebreds, of the breed alley caticus (okay, American shorthair I guess). Our cats are not vegetarians, though my boyfriend (significant other, long-term partner, whatever) is. I am a friend of all animals both tamed and wild. In addition I am a freethinker and my boyfriend studies philosophy. Either way, we get along pretty well.&nbsp; Also, please allow me to say that my BF and I recently bought a condominium in NYC.:)&nbsp; Pet peeve? Okay, I don't like public scenes, especially parents yelling at their children, lovers' spats, etc. If it must be done please do it in private:D Participation &amp; Awards:</p>
 
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