Roasted Veggie Bulgur Pilaf

I’ve made this dish a few times now – it’s a favorite from the Fresh and Fast Vegetarian cookbook. I made it again earlier this week for dinner (which also means leftovers for lunch!), and made a 2nd batch of it to take to a family friend this morning. Her son has had bacterial meningitis and taking care of him has been both a full time job and very stressful – a friend of hers set her up on foodtidings.com – and I signed up to bring them a meal today.

Roasted Veggie Bulgur Pilaf

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 red bell peppers, diced 1/2 inch
• 3 zucchini (I mix zucchini and summer squash) – about 6 oz each – diagonally sliced (1/4 inch)
• 2 large carrots, diagonally sliced (1/4 inch)
• 1 large red onion, cut into wedges (1/4 inch)
• 4 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups coarse grain bulgur
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 TB chopped fresh mint
• 1 TB chopped fresh dill
• 1 TB chopped fresh italian parsley
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 2 TB toasted pine nuts

Directions:

1. Place a heavy baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 450 for 10 minutes. I use a Pampered Chef bar pan
2. Meanwhile, combine the peppers, zucchini, carrots and red onion in a bowl. Drizzle with 3 TB of the oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of the salt and a generous grinding of black pepper.
3. Carefully remove hot pan from the oven and spread veggies on the pan. Roast for 15 minutes in the 450 degree oven. Stir with a spatula, turning and moving them around so they’ll brown evenly. Roast until browned and tender, about 10 min more.
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 TB oil in a large skillet. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, over medium heat until golden, about 10 min. Stir in the bulgur and raisins. Add 2 cups water and the remaining 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Stir once to blend. Cover and cook over low heat until the water is absorbed about 10 min.
5. Add the olives, mint, dill, parsley and orange zest to the hot roasted veggies. Add half of the veggies to the bulgur and fluff with a fork. Spoon the bulgur onto plates and mound the remaining vegetables on top. Sprinkle with the nuts and serve.