Rosie Makes Pita Bread, Tabbouleh, And Tzatziki.

Rosie is traveling the Mediterranean route today.

With pita bread.

And tabbouleh.

And tzatziki!

Pita bread has been a staple in the Middle East and the Mediterranean

for 4000 or so years.

It is thought to have originated with nomadic tribes -

the Bedouins and/or the Amorites.

Pita's prominence spread 

as the tribes traveled across 

the Saharan and Arabian deserts,

exchanging goods and services.

It's a fairly simple bread with limitless possibilities.

Pitas can be appreciated through all the different

foods which can be wrapped by, or stuffed into, or dipped by, the pita.

The beauty here is that pita is both a bread and a utensil.

Basically, pita bread is a leavened flatbread with a pocket,

the pocket being formed by steam trapped during baking.

Now, let's make some pita bread.

For baking, you're going to need a hot oven -

500° will do.

And you'll need a baking stone 

which needs to be heated for a full hour

before you start baking the pitas.

Recipe is adapted from Milk Street Magazine.

Pita Bread
neutral oil (I used Bertolli's extra light olive oil.)
175 grams (1 1/4 cups) bread flour, plus extra for dusting
175 grams (1 1/4 cups) whole wheat flour
1 package yeast
2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt


Coat a medium bowl with  oil.
In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook,
mix flours, yeast, and sugar on low
until well combined, about 5 seconds.
Add water, yogurt, and 2 tablespoons oil.
Process until a smooth ball forms, about 3 minutes.
Poke the dough - it should be slightly sticky.
If not, add a little water, a teaspoon at a time
(2 TB max),
mixing after each addition, until sticky.
Let dough rest for 5 minutes.
Add salt and process at low speed about 10 minutes,
until soft and pliable.
Form dough into a ball and transfer to oiled bowl,
turning ball to coat with oil.
Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place.
About 1 1/2 hours.

Heat oven with baking stone to 500°.

Dust a baking sheet evenly with bread flour.
Transfer dough to lightly floured surface.
Divide dough into 10 pieces and roll into tight balls.
Place on prepared baking sheet.
Brush each ball with oil and cover.
Let rise in warm area until almost doubled,
 about 60 minutes.


Lightly flour a work surface
and roll each ball into a round about 1/8 inch thick
with a 5 1/2-inch diameter.
Places rounds on lightly floured baking sheets.
Cover and let rest about 15 minutes.

Working quickly,
open oven door and slide 2 rounds at a time
onto the baking stone.
Bake until the pitas have puffed and are a light golden brown,
about 3-4 minutes.
Remove from oven and place on rack, covering.
Repeat with remaining dough rounds.

Now for the step-by-steps:

Here's my dough, oiled, and ready to rise.

And here's my risen dough.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured board

and knead a bit.

Cut into 10 equal pieces.

Form into balls and lightly oil each round.

Cover and let rest a bit.

Roll out into rounds.

I used a lightly floured pizza paddle to 

slide the rounds, two at a time,

onto the hot baking stone.

Oooooh.

Puffy pitas!

Now that you have pita bread,

I have two excellent dips for your gustatory pleasure -
tabbouleh and tzatziki.

Both are bursting with fresh summer flavors -

cucumbers and tomatoes,

and the bright accents of green herbs -

mint, parsley, and dill.

Tabbouleh

1/2 cup bulgur wheat

2 garlic cloves

juice of 2 lemons (1/4 cup lemon juice)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 English cucumber, diced

2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and diced

2 scallions, sliced

 1 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup chopped mint

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Put bulgur wheat in medium bowl,

pour boiling water over to cover,

cover bowl,

and let sit for at least an hour.

Bulgur will soak up most of the water.

Drain off remaining liquid.

You'll end up with about 2 cups of bulgur.

Combine minced garlic and lemon juice

 and whisk oil into mixture.

Combine prepared bulgur wheat,  

 cucumber, tomato, scallions, parsley, and mint.

Pour lemon juice and oil mixture over

and toss to combine.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Rosie Note:  These amounts are not etched in stone.

If you want more tomato or cucumber, go for it.

Same with mint and parsley.

If you'd like to add in some chopped red onion,

I would not be averse to that.

And if you didn't make you own pita bread,

these dips are perfect with tortilla chips.

Tzatziki

1/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp lemon juice

1 inch length English cucumber, diced

1 TB fresh dill, chopped

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients to combine.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

for the flavors to meld.

Enjoy!

Rosie Makes Tabbouleh.

Today, I'm making tabbouleh.
But first, enjoy my little hummingbird having a mid-morning snack!

I love grains.
I love salads.
And tabbouleh is the perfect marriage.
Grain is brought to you in the form of the nutty goodness of bulgur wheat.
Salad is brought to you in the form of fresh summer goodness from my garden.

In case you don't know, bulgur wheat is a whole wheat grain that has been cracked and partially cooked.  It's been a staple in Middle Eastern cuisines for centuries and is most well-known as the main ingredient in tabbouleh.

What is tabbouleh, you ask?  Tabbouleh is a traditional Lebanese salad - a staple - originating in the mountains of Lebanon and Syria.  Basically, tabbouleh is a combination of bulgur wheat, tomato, onion, cucumber, parsley, and mint, with an olive oil and lemon dressing.  The amounts of individual ingredients are not etched in stone, so you can tailor this salad to your own tastes.  Depending on who's making the dish, tabbouleh has many variations.  It can be wheatier or mintier and you can add all sorts of "non-traditional" additions.  It's definitely tinkerable, depending on what you have and what your tastes are.  Think:  pomegranates, nuts(walnuts, pecans), fruits (apples), beans (garbanzos), alternative greens (kale), citrus (lime), olive oil (citrus-infused).  So many possibilities!

 Besides being just ultimately delicious, tabbouleh is also healthy.  Just don't let that "healthiness" deter you from trying this dish.

The first thing you do is prepare the bulgur wheat.

Pour a cup of the grain in a heat-proof bowl and pour in boiling water to cover the bulgur.  Cover the bowl and let sit for an hour or two so that the wheat absorbs the water.  Drain off any excess water.  The prepared bulgur wheat is now ready for its accoutrements.

Rosie Note:   I started with a cup of bulgur wheat.  After the grain absorbed the water and expanded and after I added the vegetables and herbs and dressing, I ended up with 6 cups of tabbouleh.

 Rosie's Version Of Tabbouleh
prepared bulgur wheat
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 cup mint, finely chopped
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients.

Dressing:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Slowly pour the oil into the lemon juice, whisking constantly, until you have a nice emulsion.  Season with salt and pepper.

Pour dressing over above bulgur mixture, tossing to coat.

Adjust seasonings if you wish.

Rosie Note:  As for the olive oil,  I used Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil, mainly because I didn't want the oil to detract or distract from the other flavors in the tabbouleh.  I wanted a neutral oil.
I would suggest using a milder oil in your tabbouleh before experimenting with more highly flavored oils or citrus-infused olive oils.  I simply am recommending finding a comfortable base point, then branching out.





Combine vegetables and herbs with bulgur wheat, then pour in dressing.

Mix well.  Adjust seasonings if you like.

As for serving tabbouleh, you can always wrap it in a lettuce leaf,
preferably one grown in your own garden.

Or you can just scoop it up with a Tostito.

Enjoy!

Tabbouleh Time.

 

  I love grains.

Their texture...

Their nutty flavor...

And I love salads.

Tabbouleh is the perfect combination

of fresh-picked vegetables from the garden 

and the wonder of a grain - bulgur wheat.

I was reading the back of the bulgur bag for directions

and it said to pour 2 cups boiling water 

over 2 cups of the bulgur.

Cover.

So I did.

I should've used 1 cup.

This made a gallon of tabbouleh.

OK.

I exaggerate, but not by much. 

Since I ended up with so much bulgur wheat,
I decided to split the cooked bulgur and make two sides.
I used 2/3 of the cooked bulgur for my tabbouleh
and the other 1/3 for another quick bulgur and garbanzo salad.

Rosie's Tabbouleh

2 cups bulgur wheat

2 cups boiling water

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and diced

1 medium red onion, diced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped mint

Pour boiling water over wheat,

cover, and let sit for at least an hour, to absorb the liquid.

Dressing

1/2 cup blood orange infused olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

Combine 2/3 of the bulgur wheat, vegetables, and herbs.

Pour dressing over top and toss to coat.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour
 to allow the flavors the meld.

Here's the other salad I made.

Bulgur wheat
garbanzo beans
chopped red peper
chopped green and red peppers
Toss with your favorite Italian dressing.

Rosie Makes Tabbouleh With A Twist.

 They say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

So I'm shamelessly ripping off Rocquie's recipe

for Kale Tabbouleh from her food blog, SageTrifle.

Thanks, Rocquie, for a new twist on tabbouleh.

 Kale Tabbouleh

For the bulgur:

 1/2 cup bulgur wheat

1 1/4 cups boiling water

Pour boiling water over bulgur.

Cover and let it sit for one hour.

For the kale:

about 3 cups kale, loosely packed,

washed, stemmed, and torn into small pieces

drizzling of blood orange infused olive oil

some homemade sea salt
(I live at the ocean.  I make my own sea salt.)

juice of one lemon

Massage the kale leaves for 5 minutes

with the olive oil, sea salt, and lemon juice.

You'll end up with about a cup of tender, tasty, kale.

 For the fixin's:

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped cucumber

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

1/3 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped cucumber

1 tomato, peeled, seeded, juiced, and chopped

 Mix all together.

Add to prepared kale.

After an hour of the bulgur soaking up the water,

add it to the kale and fixin's and toss.

Prepare the dressing.

For the dressing:

1/4 cup blood orange infused olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

 sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Whisk olive oil into lemon juice.

Season to taste.

Pour dressing over bulgur mixture.

Toss to mix.

From Outer Banks Olive Oil Company.

MP 6 shopping center.

Two doors down from Chip's Wine and Beer.

Massage.

Five minutes.

And you end up with this.

Get out a tomato, some red onion,

 some cucumber, mint, and parsley.

Mix and match!

Choppychoppy!

Minceymincey!

Mix all together.

Starting on the dressing.

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup blood orange olive oil

I love taboulleh!

Thank you, Rocquie, for the addition of the kale!