Recipe Review - Ottolenghi's Bulgur with mushrooms, feta and dill from Simple

This recipe is from the recipe book Simple from Yotam Ottolenghi. I love Ottolenghi's use of herbs and fresh ingredients to create unique recipes.

Short Summary

💖 Overall                👌👌👌👌

✌ Taste                   👌👌👌👌👌

👶 Kids Approved     Kind of

💪 Difficulty               Easy

Preparation 

Recipe is easy to make and the instructions are easy to follow. Dish can be eaten on its own or as a side. 

Some of Yotam Ottolenghi's dishes call for some very fancy ingredients eg urfa chilli flakes, well I just used regular chilli flakes and the dish was still amazing. Don't skip cumin seeds, they provide great flavour in this recipe. 

Lot's of mushrooms.

Everything goes in a serving bowl

Mix well and serve!

Taste and flavour

The dish has a very interesting flavour combination as usual with Ottolenghi's dishes:

• nutty from the bulgur
• salty from the feta cheese
• earthy from the mushrooms 
• I used a combination of mushrooms and lots of them at I like mushrooms a lot
• aromatic from the dill

Is it worth it?

Worth it and will make again. My husband and kids are not big fans of dill so next time I will have the dill on the side, but for me (who loves dill and herbs in general) was amazing. 

Bulgur with mushrooms, feta and dill

Ingredients

150g bulgur wheat
Salt and black pepper
250ml boiling water
65ml olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds
400g mixed mushrooms, cut into 4- to 5mm-thick slices (or torn, if wild)
2 tbsp picked thyme leaves
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
10g dill, roughly chopped
60g feta, broken into 1-2cm pieces
1 tsp urfa chilli flakes (or ½ teaspoon regular chilli flakes)

Directions

Rinse the bulgur well, put it in a large bowl and stir in a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Pour over the boiling water, cover with cling-film and leave to soak for 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the bulgur soft, then drain (assuming any liquid is left).

Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan on a medium-high flame, then fry the onion and garlic for seven to eight minutes, until soft and caramelised. Add half the cumin, fry for a minute or two, until dark golden brown, then transfer to a plate or bowl.

Pour another two tablespoons of oil into the same pan, turn the heat to high, and fry the mushrooms and a third of a teaspoon of salt for six to seven minutes, stirring often, until the mushrooms brown and soften. Add the thyme and remaining cumin, and fry, stirring continuously, for a minute, then pour in the balsamic vinegar and cook for 30 seconds: it should reduce to practically nothing. Stir in the bulgur, half the onion, half the dill, half the feta and half the urfa chilli, until warmed through, then take the pan off the heat.

Spoon the bulgur and mushrooms on to a large platter (or two plates), sprinkle over the remaining feta, onion, dill and urfa chilli, drizzle with the final teaspoon of oil and serve.

Recipe is credited to Yotam Ottolenghi, recipe book Simple