Pilaf: An Easy Way to Use Up Leftovers
An Article by Marie Simmons

Leftovers can be a blessing or a curse. It depends on the cook. My husband claims his mother's leftovers were dull as dishwater. Calvin Trillin, the writer and essayist, had this to say about his mother and leftovers, "The remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal was never found out."

Today, faced with the better part of a leftover roasted chicken, I was wondering how to prepare these leftovers for dinner. Winter is the wrong time for chicken salad or chicken sandwiches. Finally inspired by a sack of dried bulgur I decided to make a chicken and bulgur pilaf with dried apricots, raisins, and toasted almonds. A dish that is certainly far from dull, and quite honestly a lot more interesting than the original dish: plain roasted chicken.

Bulgur, a nutritious form of wheat, is wheat berries that have been steamed, dried, and milled. It is cooks up fluffy and tender in pilaf, but when used in salad it can be simply soaked in boiling water until tender. It has a mild nutty taste with a slightly chewy texture. Sold as coarse, medium, and fine granules, the coarse or medium work best in pilaf. Available in bulk in health food stores or the bulk section of many supermarkets, it is a great grain to keep on hand.

Pilaf is Middle Eastern in origin and is often made with rice. Because bulgur and rice need the same amount of water to cook (1 cup bulgur or rice to 2 cups water) I decided to combine them for this pilaf. To compliment the nutty taste of the bulgur I have added toasted almonds. And for a tart and sweet taste I added dried apricots and raisins. Serve the pilaf with a side dish of steamed broccoli florets.

If you don't happen to be blessed with leftover chicken use one of those roasted birds that seem to be available in every supermarket these days.

For dessert serve warm applesauce with a scoop of ice cream or frozen vanilla yogurt and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon.

Copyright © 2002 by Marie Simmons. All rights reserved. A version of this article originally appeared in the LA Times as a Fresh & Fast column.

Recipes

• Chicken, Rice and Bulgur Pilaf with Dried Apricots, Raisins, and Toasted Almonds
• Warm Applesauce with Vanilla Ice Cream and Maple Syrup