Filling and hearty, the lemony flavor and the slender green beans give this bulgur dish a fresh flavor. It’s ideal to make when fresh slender green beans are on the market. That’s quite a fleeting moment, so feel free to substitute whole organic baby green beans when good fresh ones are unavailable. Serve with a colorful salad and some corn on the cob for a simple meal. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky. 

Serves: 6 to 8

• ¾ cup raw bulgur (presteamed cracked wheat)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, quartered and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup sliced white or baby bella mushrooms
• 15-ounce can navy or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts, or more, as desired
• 2 to 3 tablespoons minced fresh dill
• Juice of 1 lemon, more or less to taste
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, or to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 cups slender green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths and steamed
  until bright green and  tender-crisp
• Lemon slices for garnish, optional

Place the bulgur in a heatproof dish. Pour 1 ½ cups of boiling water over it and cover until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or stir-fry pan. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the onion is lightly browned.

Add the mushrooms; cover and sweat until they’re wilted. Stir in the bulgur and all remaining ingredients except the green beans. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.

Transfer to a serving container and stir in the green beans. Taste to see if you’d like to add more lemon juice, salt and/or pepper, then serve.

Nutrition information
Per serving: Calories: 164;  Total fat: 4g;  Protein: 6g: Carbs: 26g; Sodium: 292 mg

• Here are more recipes for making the most of green beans.
• Here are more healthy whole grain recipes.

More Healthy Kitchen

Comments

1. Theresa “Sam” Houghton says

   April 22, 2017 at 6:22 pm

   This was amazing! I made it with chickpeas instead because that’s what I had on hand. Instead of steaming the green beans beforehand, I tossed them in about 5 minutes before the end of cooking time to get them warm while staying “snappy.”

   My goodness. I really, really enjoyed this, to the point where I apparently can’t come up with good adjectives to describe it. Thanks for sharing!

2. Jan says

   August 05, 2017 at 5:00 pm

   Great recipe. I loved the combination of lemon and bulgur. I also tossed the uncooked green beans in at the end, the green bean remained tender and crisp. I used lentils instead of cannellini beans as I have always like the combination of bulgur and lentils. (By the way, I cooked the lentils in my rice cooker: 1 cup raw lentils to 2-1/4 cups water, perfectly cooked every time.) I tossed the chopped walnuts end of the very end as I wanted them to remain hard and crispy. Totally forgot to add the dill, it was just fine without it. I am planning to bring this dish to a vegan potluck on Sunday. Thanks, Nava, I am overrun with green beans.

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