We love bulgur wheat. I’ve written about it before in passing as an accompaniment to my Chilli Con Carne but here it’s much more of a main event, as it deserves. Since I was introduced to it, we have made some of-the-top-of-your head kind of salads with it, as well as using it for a substitute for rice but I decided to work on coming up with a bulgur wheat salad for the Dizzy Dieter so that you can try it in salad format for yourselves (and also so you know that I DO eat healthy things and don’t just live on cupcakes and pasta and complain about being overweight!).
This recipe also incorporates my new favourite method for cooking chicken – poaching. Sounds weird, I know but poaching chicken when done right will give you the most incredibly tender and flavourful chicken you’ve eaten for a while! I used to buy the roast-in-the-bag chickens for a roast every now and then because they’re relatively cheap and fairly idiot proof in terms of cooking. I haven’t bought one in a long time but when I tried chicken breast cooked this way, that is the taste I was instantly reminded of. And did I mention that it’s just sooooooo tender?
So, what do we have when this is all put together? The product of this recipe is a fresh, sweet and filling salad. Tasty bulgur wheat, tangy red onion, naturally sweet carrot and sweetcorn and chunks of super flavourful chicken (which, did I mention, is really tender too!). And one of the wonderful things about using bulgur wheat in a salad is that it’s so moist that you don’t need to drench it in mayonnaise or salad dressing because, quite simply, it doesn’t need it. A little olive oil brings it all together nicely and gives you a nice healthy meal that has barely any calories to worry about.
I had originally planned to use thyme in the poaching liquid but at the last minute, I decided to go with rosemary with the lemon and garlic because I love the combination (and because I was getting worried that people might think that thyme and sage were the only herbs I knew!). So you can certainly change it up if thyme isn’t to your liking.
I have noted it in the recipe but I’ll reiterate it here. It’s very important for the tenderest, most delicious chicken to allow the magic to happen at its own speed. Don’t be tempted to crank up the heat under the pan to get the poaching liquid simmering faster. – just put it on a low heat, leave it to do its thing; low and slow and you’ll get the best result. I’ve also found that the poaching method works well with salmon. Obviously, a salmon fillet is a fair bit thinner and not as dense as a chicken breast so it needs less time to cook but it gives just as good a result and the salmon is delicious with the bulgur wheat salad too.
I used my casserole pan for the poaching. It’s a whopper of a pan – big and heavy enough to knock out a burglar if needed! It’s wide and heavy based but also shallower than a regular saucepan, and has a lid so it’s absolutely perfect. I keep it next to my bed just in case….no I’m just kidding!
So let me know what you think of this recipe via the comments or you can always use the Contact Me form on the site – I love hearing from you! I’m also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so feel free to tag away. Let the poaching madness begin! Enjoy DDx.
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Bulgur Wheat and Poached Chicken Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
Description
A delicate bulgur wheat salad with fresh veggies and chunks of tender herby poached chicken, all lightly dressed in simple olive oil. Nutritious and very very tasty!
Ingredients
For poaching the chicken:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 white onion, peeled and quartered
- A few sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled and gently squashed with the flat edge of a knife
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1.4 litres boiling vegetable stock (1-2 cubes in 1.4 litres of boiling water)
For the bulgur wheat salad:
- 160 g bulgur wheat
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 1 pepper, chopped
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 50 g sweetcorn
- 1 carrot, grated
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Put the 1.4 litres of hot vegetable stock in a large pan with a lid. Add the garlic, rosemary sprigs, sliced lemon, white onion and chicken breasts and a good pinch of salt.
- Put the pan over a low heat and allow to come up to a gentle simmer. Simmer gently for 40-60 minutes (depending on the size of your pieces of chicken) until the chicken is cooked through and tender – don’t rush this step as doing it slowly will give you the most tender chicken.
- When the chicken breasts are cooked through, remove them to a plate to cool down.
- Put the bulgur wheat in a sauce pan and pour over the 400ml of vegetable stock. Place over a medium heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until the bulgur wheat has absorbed the stock and fluffed up (don’t be afraid to add some more boiling water if it looks like it needs it). Drain the bulgur wheat using a fine mesh sieve to remove any excess liquid and leave it to cool down.
- Prepare the red onion, carrot and pepper and put in a bowl with the sweetcorn. Add the cooled bulgur wheat and a good drizzle of olive oil.
- Break the chicken up into chunks and shreds and add to the bulgur wheat. Season to taste and mix everything together, adding more olive oil if needed to bring everything together.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
