Don't let the simplicity of this one fool you. It's gooooood!
Happy week before Christmas! Whether you celebrate the holiday or not I am sure you can feel the energy in the air and no doubt you've experienced your fair share of holiday lines and traffic. I selected this soup with this week in mind for it's simplicity. It is one of those recipes that leaves me in awe of how a few ingredients can create a completely satisfying meal. It feels like an opportunity to emulate the same in life... in a time that can be quite chaotic consider looking at the simple ingredients of your days that have created a truly satisfying life. See what I just did there? It's life as soup and soup as life.
WHAT IS BULGUR?
For those of you who are gluten free do NOT use bulgur. It's as gluten-y as it gets! You can easily sub quinoa in this recipe.
Bulgur is a quick cooking, 100% whole wheat that has been cracked, cleaned, parboiled (which literally means part boiled), dried and ground into different sizes like whole, coarse, medium and fine. One cup of cooked bulgur has 10% of women's recommended daily intake for iron and just over 20% of men's. It is fiber rich and a really lovely grain for the winter months.
You'll want to soak your bulgur in warm to hot water for 10 minutes before using.
Recipe modified from The Food Matters Cookbook
TOMATO & BULGUR SOUP
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Download a printable shopping list here
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 of a large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup white wine
- 28-oz can tomatoes (whole or diced) with juices
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh or dried thyme
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- ¾ cup medium bulgur
- Good quality salt and pepper
If you eat cheese this recipe whispered to me that it would love some Parmesan grated on top. Just sayin!
PREPARATION
The steps and cooking times with this recipe are particularly important to enjoy the full flavor profile of the soup.
1. In large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring, until onions soften and turn golden, about 8 minutes.
2. Add wine. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
3. Add tomatoes with juices and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes with wooden spoon for 10 minutes.
4. Add broth, water and bulgur. Raise heat to high; bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium; cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until bulgur is tender, 15 minutes.
6. Taste; season with salt and pepper if desired.
COOKING WITH WINE
I'm not typically a white wine drinker so I winged it on selecting a wine for this recipe. While any inexpensive white wine will do I was really pleased with the soft finish of this wine both for the soup and for drinking with the meal. It was just over 10 bucks at Whole Foods.
I hope you love this one! I'm sending all my love to you. Also, sometimes I pretend I'm in your kitchen as you take the first bite and do that thing where you close your eyes and go "mmmmmm, that's good!"
Until next week,
Lacy
