Nigella Lawson Spiced Bulgur Wheat With Roast Vegetables

Nigella Lawson’s spiced bulgur wheat with roast vegetables is a vegan dish of orange-and-spice-scented bulgur and red lentils, topped with roasted leeks, peppers, tomatoes and radishes. It serves 3 to 4 as a main.

In Cook, Eat, Repeat (2020) she calls it one of her most repeated suppers, in constant rotation and never tiring. She loves the scorched sweetness of the leeks and peppers, the brightness of the tomatoes and the pepperiness of the raw-then-roasted radishes, with the bulgur as the perfect foil.

The step that makes the texture is the double rest. After the bulgur simmers, you cover the pan with a clean tea towel under the lid and leave it, so the towel absorbs the steam and the grains dry and fluff up separate rather than turning claggy.

Nigella Lawson Spiced Bulgur Wheat With Roast Vegetables

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

3-4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

435

kcal

Total time

50

minutes

Nigella’s vegan main from Cook, Eat, Repeat: orange-and-spice bulgur with red lentils, steamed fluffy under a tea towel, topped with snugly roasted leeks, peppers, tomatoes and radishes. Serves three to four.

Ingredients

• For the bulgur wheat:

• a small bunch (approx. 25g) coriander

• 2 fat cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp coriander seeds

• ⅛ tsp dried chilli flakes

• 375ml cold water

• 1 x 15ml tbsp olive oil

• 1 orange

• 200g bulgur wheat

• 50g red lentils

• 1½ tsp sea salt flakes (or ¾ tsp fine sea salt)

• For the roast vegetables:

• 400g leeks (trimmed weight, approx. 600g untrimmed)

• 400g (2 to 3) red peppers

• 200g cherry tomatoes

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 tsp sea salt flakes (or ½ tsp fine sea salt)

• 3 x 15ml tbsp olive oil

• 150g radishes

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Directions

• Build the spice base:Finely chop about a tablespoon of the tender coriander stalks. Gently warm the tablespoon of oil in a heavy lidded pan (about 20cm). Grate in the orange zest, then mince in the garlic and add the chopped stalks, stirring for 30 seconds. Turn the heat to medium-low, add the fennel, cumin and coriander seeds and the chilli flakes, and stir.
• Cook the grains:Turn the heat to high, add the bulgur and lentils and stir well. Pour in the 375ml water and salt, and bring to the boil. Clamp on the lid, turn to low, and cook gently for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed.
• Rest the bulgur:Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a clean tea towel, clamp the lid back on, and leave for at least 40 minutes (up to 2 hours).
• Roast the veg:Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan. Wash the leeks and cut into 3cm logs; deseed and cut the peppers into large bite-sized pieces. Put them in a snug, shallow roasting tin with the whole cherry tomatoes. Scatter over the seeds and salt, add the 3 tablespoons of oil, and toss. Add 2 tablespoons each of cold water and orange juice, then roast for 30 minutes, until soft and scorching in parts.
• Add the radishes:Halve the radishes top to bottom. Add to the tin, mix (add more orange juice and water if dry), and roast for a final 10 minutes.
• Finish:Fork through the bulgur to fluff and separate the grains, and fork in most of the chopped coriander leaves. Mix in a third of the roasted veg lightly, taste for salt, then top with the rest of the veg and the remaining coriander.

Notes

• (get the veg ready ahead): You can prep the vegetables and sit them in their tin a couple of hours in advance. Cover them if you’d rather not have the scent of raw leeks around.
• (get the bulgur ahead): The bulgur is very relaxing to cook ahead, as it stands happily for up to 2 hours and doesn’t need to be piping hot.
• (serving): Lovely as a main, or as a side (starch and veg in one) alongside roast chicken, slow-cooked lamb or quickly cooked red mullet. Nigella also serves it with roast butternut and her beetroot “pink sauce”.
• (storage): Refrigerate leftovers, covered, for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave, or cover with foil and heat in a 180°C/160°C fan oven until piping hot. It’s also excellent cold, or at room temperature with a little olive oil and lemon juice stirred in.

FAQs

Why cover the bulgur with a tea towel after cooking?

This is the trick that gives you light, separate grains instead of a wet, claggy mass. Once the bulgur has absorbed its water, you take it off the heat and lay a clean tea towel over the pan under the lid. The cloth soaks up the rising steam that would otherwise drip back and make the grains soggy.

Left to stand like this for 40 minutes, or up to a couple of hours, the bulgur dries and fluffs beautifully, ready to fork through. It’s a hands-off step you can do well ahead, and it’s part of why Nigella finds the dish so relaxing to make. Don’t rush it or skip the towel.

Why toast the spices and add orange zest first?

Warming the whole fennel, cumin and coriander seeds in the oil before the grains go in blooms them, releasing their aromatic oils so they perfume the whole pan far more than if you just stirred them through at the end. The orange zest, grated into the warm oil, adds a fragrant citrus lift that runs through the finished dish.

Softening the garlic and chopped coriander stalks first, gently, means they mellow into the oil without catching and turning bitter. Only then do the bulgur and lentils go in to toast briefly before the water. It’s a proper little pilaf method, building flavour in layers from the base up.

Why roast the vegetables snugly in the tin?

Packing the leeks, peppers and tomatoes tightly into a fairly shallow tin is deliberate. Sitting close together, they roast in their own concentrated, strongly flavoured juices, so you get that scorched sweetness at the edges rather than dried-out veg. A tin that’s too large lets the juices spread thin and the vegetables can catch and dry.

If you have had to use a bigger tin and things look dry, add another splash of orange juice and water. The radishes go in only for the last 10 minutes, so they soften and warm through while keeping some of their peppery bite, which is a lovely contrast against the sweet roasted peppers.

Can I make it ahead, and how long does it keep?

It’s built for making ahead, which is much of its charm. You can prep the vegetables in their tin a couple of hours in advance, and cook the bulgur early too, since it stands happily for up to two hours and needn’t be piping hot. Nigella describes it as exactly the kind of thing you want in a tub in the fridge.

Leftovers keep, covered, for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave, or covered with foil in a 180°C fan-160°C oven until piping hot. It’s genuinely as good cold or at room temperature, stirred with a little olive oil and lemon juice, so it doubles as a make-ahead salad.

Is it a main, a side or a salad, and what do I serve with it?

All three, which is why Nigella reaches for it so often. It’s a satisfying vegan main on its own, a clever side that gives you starch and vegetables in one alongside a roast, or a room-temperature salad for lunch the next day.

As a side it’s lovely with roast chicken, slow-cooked lamb or grilled fish, and Nigella particularly likes it with red mullet. On a fish night, her fear-free fish stew makes a natural pairing, and for a mezze-style spread her caramelized garlic hummus sits beautifully alongside.

Can I change the grains or vegetables, or make it gluten-free?

The vegetables are very forgiving, so swap in whatever roasts well: butternut squash, aubergine, courgette or fennel all suit the spicing. Nigella herself serves it with roast butternut and a beetroot “pink sauce” for a more elaborate spread, so treat the veg as a template.

Bulgur is a wheat product, so this isn’t gluten-free as written. Quinoa or brown rice work as gluten-free swaps, though you’ll need to adjust the liquid and cooking time to the grain. For another veg-forward Nigella supper, her green pasta with blue cheese is a quick option, and there’s more on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.