Not Your Usual Side Dish

Potatoes and rice, potatoes and rice, sometimes bread. These are side dish staples in my household, and I am bored. A couple of weeks ago, I had a lovely bulgur wheat salad with my sea bass at Farmerie 58, so I decided to try my own take on bulgur tonight for dinner. We are having balsamic glazed pork chops for a main dish, so I thought it would be nice to flavor the grain with apples and raisins. Next time, I might add a little apple juice to the cooking liquid for the grains, or use a little olive oil instead of all butter (ran out of olive oil making the glaze for the chops!).

Bulgur Salad

1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup bulgur
2 cups water
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Heat the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the bulgur and raisins and stir. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Turn heat off and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, saute the onion, celery, and apple in 1 tablespoon of butter until softened. Add the last 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and melt with the sauteed vegetables. Add the bulgur/raisin mixture and the cider vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.