MEDITERRANEAN BULGUR SALAD RECIPE
Our Mediterranean Bulgur Salad recipe combines the goodness of the Mediterranean Diet with the popular Dense Bean Salad to create magic! Cooking the bulgur in the Instant Pot makes this recipe even easier to prepare.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
- 1 medium metal bowl
- 1 metal trivet
- aluminium foil
- 1 large metal bowl
Ingredients
Instant Pot Bulgur
- 1 cup dried bulgur
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2¼ cups water (1 cup for the liner, 1¼ for the recipe)
Mediterranean Bulgur Salad
- 3½ cup cooked bulgur
- 1½ cup (approx 1 can) cooked chickpeas
- 1 (1 cup) small English cucumber peeled, diced
- 1 (1 cup) red bell pepper seeded, chopped
- 1/2 cup (approx 1/2 medium) red onion finely chopped
- 1 or 1½ garlic clove peeled, minced
- 3/4 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1/4 cup (approx 1 lemon) lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Instant Pot Bulgur
- Place trivet on the bottom of the Instant Pot liner. Pour 1 cup of warm water into the liner.
- Combine bulgur, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and 1¼ cups of water in a mid-sized metal bowl that fits inside the liner. Stir to combine. Cover with aluminum foil and tuck the edges so it is secure. Place the bowl on top of the trivet inside the liner.
- Close the lid of the Instant Pot and turn the release valve to the closed position. Set the manual pressure cook timer to 4 minutes.
- When the cooking is complete, allow for Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes. The pressure may release before this but wait to open until it's settled for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the lid.
- The metal bowl will be very hot so do not touch it with bare hands. Carefully remove the metal bowl from the liner, either with oven mitts or by removing the whole trivet and bowl with tongs. Carefully remove the aluminum foil from the top of the bowl.
- Fluff with a fork and allow to cool completely.
Mediterranean Bulgur Salad
- Cook the dried bulgur, following the directions above, and allow it to fully cool.
- Combine bulgur, chickpeas, and all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Gently mix together with a large spoon until everything is thoroughly covered and combined.
- Cover and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the flavours melt together. The bulgur absorbs the olive oil and the flavours of the cumin, lemon, and garlic. This step is not mandatory but I highly recommend it because it makes such a difference in the taste of this salad. The taste changes from when you first mix it, compared to 30 minutes later, and is even stronger the next day. Smile and Enjoy!
Notes
- Save time by preparing the bulgur the previous night and by using canned chickpeas.
- This recipe requires patience. It's important to let the Mediterranean Bulgur Salad rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavours to absorb and meld together.
- Serve as a side dish, salad, or an entree.
- Store leftover Mediterranean Bulgur Salad in an air-tight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.