1largeonion (finely chopped - Cook half of it in olive oil and save the uncooked half to mix with parsley for topping.)
½green pepper (finely chopped)
½bunchflat-leaf Italian parsley (finely chopped - Use 3/4 of it in mixture and save 1/4 to mix with onion for topping.)
18- oz. cantomato sauce
¾cupwater
¼cuplemon juice
1 ½tsp.dried mint(crushed)
½tsp.dried basil(crushed )
salt and pepper(to taste)
1cupbulgur, fine (#1 size)
Instructions
Sauté onion and pepper in olive oil until soft. Add tomato sauce, water, lemon juice and seasonings. Stir well, bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add bulgur, stirring well. Stir in 3/4 of the chopped parsley.
When cool enough to handle, scoop up a handful and shape into equal-sized sausage shapes until mixture is all used. up (or- I like to use a 1/3 cup measuring cup for a uniform shape and look when it is inverted. Sprinkle the top with reserved mixture of onion and parsley mixture.
Notes
This recipe's yield varies: Makes 8 entree size portions, or 16 pieces for appetizers - or - since I used 1/3 cup measure for equal portions, the recipe yielded 10 (1/3 cup) servings.
I used: • a mixture of miniature red, yellow and orange peppers instead of green peppers. • red pepper paste in addition to tomato paste plus enough water to create the 8 oz. of sauce.
The #1 bulgur softens nicely in the hot mixture, and holds its shape well for the presentation.
You can add seasonings of your choice to suit your taste.
My Evaluation of Eech: Needless to say, we enjoyed it very much, but I’ll stick to my grandmother's uncooked tabbouleh (sarma gurgood) rather than cooked eech - only because there are fewer things to wash at the end!