There are those dishes that you make intuitively, when you come home starving and can't even be bothered to think of what to eat. For some, it's long strands of pasta, covered in luscious red sauce; for others, it's scrambled eggs, thrown into a firey hot pan with everything but the kitchen sink. For those who shall be left unnamed (*cough*G*cough*), it's frozen pizza from a box. For me, that dish I make without even thinking is a grain salad. And this bulgur salad with roasted butternut squash and leeks is possibly the cream of the crop when it comes to dishes you make on auto-pilot: it's creamy and luscious, fragrant with rosemary and garlic, and oh-so-satisfying when it hits your belly.
The beauty of a bulgur salad is that it comes together quickly. Bulgur requires no cooking; instead, you just soak the grains in boiling water for 10 minutes, trying to stop yourself from fluffing them too prematurely (or you'll end with sticky bulgur).
While this is happening, you roast the rest of the ingredients: lovely fall leeks and cubes of orange butternut squash, drizzled with just a bit of oil to encourage that beautiful caramelization. You put the whole thing in the oven for 20-30 minutes, and make the simple rosemary-garlic-oil-lemon juice dressing. If you're feeling ambitious, toast some pumpkin seeds while you're at it.
By the time the squash and leeks have finished cooking, your whole house smells like Thanksgiving: warm and inviting. Your stomach is already growling, but that's just in time - all you need to do now is top the bulgur with the squash, dress it all with the sauce, and dig in!
This bulgur salad is my auto-pilot dish. What's yours?
Bulgur salad with roasted butternut squash and leeks
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups boiling water
- 1 cup bulgur or couscous
- 2 cups butternut squash cubed
- 1 leek green parts trimmed
- 4 TB lemon juice
- 7 TBs olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 branch of rosemary minced very finely
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds toasted
- ⅛ cup nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese grated or shaved (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Prepare and trim squash and leeks - peel squash and cube into 1-inch cubes. Cut off the green parts of the leek, and slice leek in half, and then into crescent strips. Let strips float in a bowl of water to ensure all grit is washed away.
- Cover a baking sheet with tinfoil. Arrange squash and leeks on baking sheet, drizzling them with 1 TB of olive oil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until squash and leeks have browned. Let cool a bit.
- Meanwhile, prepare bulgur or couscous. To prepare quick-cooking grains, boil water and pour on top of grains. Salt with ½ teaspoon of salt, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork - the grains should be separated and plump.
- Toast pumpkin seeds on a medium-hot pan for about five minutes, keeping a close eye on them and stirring occasionally.
- Prepare dressing: mix remaining olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic and rosemary in a jar, and shake to emulsify.
- To arrange salad, pour grains into a wide bowl. Top with squash, leeks and pumpkin seeds, and drizzle with sauce. Optional: Sprinkle nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese on top.
- Serve immediately, though this salad can also keep covered in the fridge for up to a week.
Kathryn @ The Scratch Artist says
I have so many autopilot meals at this point...i guess that is one of the advantages of being a food blogger. I've had to make so many things multiple times to get it just right I become an expert. I love cooking something the first time when I don't bother to think about how I am going to write the recipe. Just adding, stirring, and tasting with no pressure or stress -- just good food and good smells 🙂
This salad looks perfect 🙂
kseniaprints says
You're absolutely right. Those nights when I'm just winging it are my favourites as well 🙂
Sol says
Hi Ksenia! I am not really a good fun of couscous, any idea if this would goes well with jasmine rice too?
kseniaprints says
Absolutely! I bet the fragrant jasmine rice will go beautifully here. Just of course, it'll take longer to cook.
danielle is rooting the sun says
food soul-mates you say? i am here to agree with you ksneia - if this isn't absolute proof (or dammit if you don't make every dish so beautiful in form and function). i absolutely adore intuition in the kitchen - some of the best meals result from 'winging it', so to speak. the combination of leek and butternut is sublime for me. usually my own autopilot consists of some sort of mediterannean quinoa preparation, unfailingly - i think it's because i've always got sundried tomatoes, feta, olives, nuts, and onions hanging out with me. ♥ 😉
kseniaprints says
Those are the best ingredients to always have on hand. Though I'd add something pickled to that list 🙂
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
I love everything about this dish. This time of year I can't get enough hearty salads like this, either with grains and/or roasted vegetables to give them some heft. This is my kind of meal! As for my go-to when there isn't really time to cook, I usually whip up a cold salad of whatever veggies and/or leftovers I have on hand (but truthfully, this salad looks so much better!) or scramble up some eggs. And if all else fails, a bowl of yogurt with fruit and nuts is my last resort. 🙂 xoxo
kseniaprints says
Yogurt with fruits and nuts is my last breakfast resort! And I actually tend to eat one large composed salad a day. It's often the highlight of the day for me, if we're being honest!
Sofia | From the Land we Live on says
Such a gorgeous dish! Love it. I'm so lazy when it comes to auto-pilot meals. I usually crack open a can of sardines or a jar of selodka...perfect with a piece of buttered toast and a side of sauerkraut or whatever vegetables are laying around. If I wasn't blogging or cooking for 2, that would probably be what I would eat for at least 80% of my meals.
kseniaprints says
Mmmmm. I've totally done that many a time. I've actually been obsessing about developing a salad with selodka for the blog - any ideas? Maybe we can work on this as a collaboration - two dishes that transform seledka into a health food!
Sofia | From the Land we Live on says
I think it goes without saying that "selodka pod shubay" has a very special place in my heart, and I've thought of posting it but then I would probably lose 90% of my readers. I will give this some thought though for sure..I love the idea of collaborating on this and I'll be thinking about how to introduce selodka to a delicate non-Russian palate 🙂
kseniaprints says
Expect an email from me about this!
Linda | The Baker Who Kerns says
Hmmm this looks delicious! I haven't had much experience with middle eastern food but this is making me regret that I didn't get into it sooner!
kseniaprints says
It's *never* too late to start - but we warned, it's incredibly addictive !
Kimberly/TheLittlePlantation says
This looks so comforting. What a great throw together meal. Ours is usually a sandwich of sort but this surely beats that.
Thx for sharing 🙂
kseniaprints says
Hey, a sandwich of sort is often the best thrown-together meal!
Berta says
This looks like a must-try!! I love bulgur, especially in Turkish tabbouleh, which (coupled with fried haloumi cheese) is my mum's autopilot dish in summer.
As for my autopilot dish - I recently discovered spelt and I fell in love with it, so these days when I need a quick lunch or dinner I cook some, as well as fry some onions to add to it.It's super simple and super yummy!!
Elena says
I should add bulgur to my shopping list right now!