Before there was rice, there was burghul. It was the staple grain in Lebanon and an essential part of the winter mouneh, the preserved, dried, pickled, foodstuff that sustained families through the cold winters in the mountains. Now, while rice is certainly popular in Lebanon and the whole region, burghul still commands a large presence in the Lebanese kitchen. We might not need it to survive the winters, but like all ancient food traditions, it is still cooked because it is delicious.
Impatient? Skip to the recipe.
The process of making burghul starts with the wheat grains. These are boiled till tender, then sun-dried for days until all the water is gone and the grains are fully dry. Last step is to crack the wheat into smaller grains to make the burghul. Typically the grains are broken down into fine, medium or coarse. Here in the US I’ve seen them labeled as #1 for the finest, almost the size of polenta granules, #3 the coarsest closer to the size of short grain rice or maybe steel cut oats and #2 is medium and somewhere in between. I prefer the #3 version for the basic cooked burghul that I serve plain as a side. This is the one I am discussing in this post. It’s the go-to burghul for me, simply cooked or prepared like a rice pilaf with veggies, tomatoes or meats to make a standalone meal. It’s also pretty quick to cook since technically it already is cooked.
The recipe below is one of the simplest ways to use this lovely ancient grain. I added peas because I had them and they look and taste good in there but they certainly can be omitted. In the pictures here you also see some Greek yogurt, oil cured olives and Aleppo pepper.
Simple Burghul
Servings: 4 as a side dish
Notes
Ideally you need the coarse variety of burghul for this, but the medium (#2) works. Just adjust the cooking time by a few minutes less. Feel free to add other spices you like besides the black pepper; cumin, allspice, coriander can all work well.
The peas are optional, you can completely omit them without changing anything else. Many other vegetables would work here as well like green beans, broccoli, cauliflower. These need to be par cooked (blanched in salted water for a few minutes) first unless you like really crunchy vegetables.
- 4 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Medium Onion, chopped
- 200 gr Burghul, coarse #3 (about 1.25 Cups)
- 350 gr Water or Stock, (about 1.25 Cups)
- Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
- 200 gr Frozen Peas, thawed (Optional – see note above)
- Heat the oil in a deep medium pot or sauce pan for a minute or two over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the oil until deep golden brown, you want them to get some color but not burn, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the burghul along with a teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir it in the onions for a minute and add the water (or stock) and bring it to a simmer. Cover the pot and lower the heat. Let it cook for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the cover and add the peas. Do NOT stir, the peas will steam on top of the grains. Cover again and let it cook on low for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover and stir everything and fluff it with a fork. The grains should be tender but not mushy. If there is more liquid in the pot or the grains feel a bit tough, cover and let them cook for another 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve as a side or as its own dish with hot chiles, yogurt, olives or a green salad.