When I recently served the Meatless Taco Salad I shared in last week’s column, my husband pointed out that he missed the texture of ground beef in a traditional taco salad, even though my version more than made up for its flavor. A ground beef substitute seems the obvious fix, but most products rely on extracted plant proteins, rather than whole foods. Instead, I make a vegetarian ground beef replacement from scratch. It doesn’t take much longer to cook than the real thing, and it has deep flavor and a pleasingly crumbly texture.
That texture mainly comes from bulgur wheat (sometimes spelled bulghur), a whole grain that has been parboiled, dried and ground. The coarser the grind, the longer bulgur takes to cook and the chewier its texture. It’s most well known as the traditional base for tabbouleh salad.
Most packaged bulgur doesn’t specify the grind but does indicate cooking time. Medium grind is the most common and usually cooks in 10 to 15 minutes. If you use coarser bulgur, you may need to add more liquid and cook longer to reach the desired texture.
When you sauté mushrooms, onions, aromatics and spices and then add homemade stock, tomato sauce and bulgur to the same pan, the wheat grains become infused with these flavors as they absorb the liquid. Mushrooms give the bulgur a meaty umami, but leave them out if you’re not a fan of fungi. Bump up the chilies for a spicier batch.
To use this bulgur-based meat replacement in taco salad, toss the drained beans and corn into the pan of hot, tender bulgur. Heat over low heat until warm, and then taste and add more seasonings as needed. Immediately combine the bulgur mixture with the other salad ingredients, including a sturdy lettuce like Romaine. This seasoned bulgur is also delicious on nachos, folded into enchiladas and mixed with Brined and Seasoned Pot Beans for a beef-and-bean-style chili.
Bulgur Taco “Meat”
Makes about 4 cups
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cremini mushrooms, minced (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh Fresno or jalapeno chili, deseeded and minced
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh chopped or 1/2 teaspoon dried crumbled oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2-1/2 cups vegetable or corncob stock
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 cup medium-grind bulgur
In a large skillet or heavy-bottomed sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onion and cook for five minutes, until they start to soften. Add the garlic, chili, oregano, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper and sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in the stock, tomato sauce, tomato paste and maple syrup. Mix in the bulgur and bring to a low simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the liquid has been fully absorbed and the bulgur is tender.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.