Don’t all look so shocked. It’s called a s*l*d but it’s really more of a porridge. It’s a lovely light carbohydrate substrate inna North African–middle-eastern vein, great as a side dish, brilliant at barbecues.

Now that the hot weather is quite definitively over (awesome timing with this challenj, O mighty mod), I feel comfortable sharing my secrets with you all. Hence this recipe. The key to this s*l*d, as with all s*l*ds, is to introduce as much meeeeat as possible. So use the good chicken stock. Boil dem bones. I keep my chicken stock frozen in ice cube bags and pop out a few cubes whenever I need some.

Note to Americans and other aliens: bulgar wheat, often spelled bulgur wheat, is what I believe the Yanks call cracked wheat.

Bulgar wheat s*l*d

You gonnae need:

• 250g bulgar wheat (half a pack)
• half an onion, diced fine
• a red pepper, diced (I like it very fine; also, I used the sweet pointed kind)
• handful of garlic cloves, chopped
• a couple or three green birdseye chillies, chopped (and you’d better cut them onna bias, too)
• ½ litre chicken stock
• lime

You gonnae dae:

1. Soften the onion, pepper, and garlic inna frying pan, low to medium heat. Take off the heat when they’re done.
2. Meanwhile, cover the bulgar wheat with stock inna saucepan and bring to a simmer.
3. Panic and keep adding more water to the saucepan every time it looks like it might ever dry out one day. This step is optional.
4. The wheat is done when it’s just tender but a bit al dente—you want the slightest hint of a pop still there when you bite into it—and all the liquid is absorbed. Kinda like cooking rice on the hob.
5. Stir through the softened veggies and the chillies.
6. Stir through the zest and juice from a lime.
7. It might need salt, depending on the kind of stock you used and your current electrolyte balance. I’m fighting off the flu so I added a shitton.

Best served warm but not hot, with the barbecued meats placed on top so all the meaty juice goodness seeps through.

It’s better the next day (warmed slightly). I think the lime juice helps break it down a bit.

Originally posted on weekly food challenj