Bulgur Pilaf with Butternut Squash

Vegetables & Fruit challenge: Butternut Squash

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Cooking a new food is like going into a high risky adventure. It’s fun, exciting and, intimidating as well. It may come out with unpleasant results. But for me it’s always worth trying! I tried Kale before. Today the new food item is Butternut squash!

I feel it’s a fancy name for a fruit. Is it a fruit or a vegetable? Botanically (relating to plants) it’s a fruit but, in culinary art it’s considered as veggie. When I saw butternut squash for the first time, I thought it’s a pumpkin; I didn’t know that there is another kind of veggies, but they are related to the same family. It tastes like sweet potato & pumpkin, but not too sweet like pumpkin, and not so fibrous like sweet potato. It gets sweeter as it ripens, and it suits savory dishes better.

Why do you should eat Butternut squash

• It has a great nutrition profile, It’s high in Vitamins like A and E ,and B vitamins like Thiamin B1, Niacin B3, B6, Folate and Vitamin C.
• Also, it has good amounts of minerals like Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, and Manganese.
• Also high in antioxidants like beta-carotene, and after all it’s a low calorie food.
• Other advantages for eating Butternut Squash, that is relatively a cheap product, satisfying, and easy to deal to with, either roasted or cooked. The peak season is in autumn, but its available year around, coming from South America continent.

Bulgur is whole wheat grain that is partially cooked, comes from Middle Eastern, European, and Turkish origin. And its used a lot in Arabic cuisine. Bulgur is high in fiber, magnesium, and low in fat. It’s a good substitute for rice, for anyone wants add fiber, and protein to their starchy carb option.

You can eat raw Bulgur; in fact it has a high fiber content than the cooked one. You can soak it with lemon juice, and some water like ” Tabbouli salad”, but make sure it’s the fine one. If you want to use it for cooking, use the coarse one like this

I was very confused what to do with butternut squash. There are tons of recipes. I thought mixing cuisines will be a great idea. My mom used to do this recipe, but this is my version which is healthier, and of course mom don’t use Butternut Squash, but pumpkin.

Enjoy! 

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Yield: 4

Bulgur Pilaf with Butternut Squash

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

• 200g of Bulgur
• 1 lb of Beef cubes
• 1 oz of Onion chopped (diced)
• 130g of butternut squash
• 3 medium Carrots
• 2 medium Zucchinis
• 1 medium Red Bell Peppe
• 2 cups of water
• 3 Tbsp. of Olive Oil
• 2 tsp. of each Cumin powder, Cardamom powder, Dried Basil (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel the butternut squash with a vegetable peeler (mine is a small one, so I used a sharp big knife).
2. Remove the seeds, and cut it into cubes.
3. Cut the other veggies, cut them evenly.
4. Heat the cooker, brown the meat with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil, and put it aside.
5. Add the rest of olive oil, sauté onions, and veggies for 3 minutes.
6. Add bulgur, water, and beef cubes, and leave it for 30 min.
7. Serve hot, and refrigerate any leftovers

Notes

The skin is edible if you want to leave it, just make sure to wash it very well.

If you wish you can boil the meat before, then add to the Bulgur mixture, but you will get a rich flavor if you cook all the ingredients together.

If you don’t like mushy veggies, you can skip zucchini, but I love it, because it adds moistness to dishes.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 508Total Fat: 29gSodium: 293mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 14gProtein: 30g