Seared Chicken over Warm Bulgur with Cucumber and Parsley
Chicken breast seared in a hot skillet and sliced over bulgur soaked while it cooks, tossed with cucumber, tomatoes, scallion, and a great deal of parsley.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Bulgur is the fastest grain in the cupboard and almost nobody uses it that way. It has already been parboiled and dried before it reaches you, so it needs no simmering at all: boiling water, a lid, and fifteen minutes standing on the counter while you cook everything else. That is the whole reason this dinner fits in half an hour. Fine bulgur is ready in ten, medium takes closer to twenty, so buy the fine grind if you want the shorter window.
The chicken gets halved horizontally into thin cutlets, which is the single most useful knife move for weeknight poultry. A whole breast is thick at one end and thin at the other and will always be dry somewhere. Two thin cutlets cook in six minutes total, brown properly because there is more surface for the heat to work on, and slice into neat strips for the top of the bowl. Salt and pepper are all they need, since the lemon and parsley below are doing the seasoning for the plate.
What makes this bowl work is the ratio. There is nearly as much parsley as there is anything else, and it is chopped rather than minced so you get whole leaves and stems that taste green and slightly bitter against the sweet tomato and the cool cucumber. Warm grain under cold vegetables is a texture I keep coming back to in hot weather. It is a good dinner to make on a night when you also want lunch handled, since it eats even better cold the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally into thin cutlets
- 1 1/4 cups fine or medium bulgur, dry
- 1 English cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1 3/4 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, from 1 large bunch
- 5 scallions, sliced thin
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Start the bulgur: Put the bulgur in a heatproof bowl with 1/4 tsp of the salt. Pour over 1 3/4 cups boiling water, cover the bowl tightly with a plate or a lid, and leave it on the counter. Fine bulgur will be tender in about ten minutes, medium in fifteen to twenty. Do not stir it while it sits.
- Cut and season the chicken: Lay each chicken breast flat and, with your hand on top, slice it horizontally into two thin cutlets. Pat them dry and season both sides with the remaining salt and half the black pepper. Thin cutlets cook so fast that they should be seasoned right before they hit the pan.
- Chop everything else: While the bulgur sits, dice the cucumber, quarter the tomatoes, slice the scallions, and chop the parsley coarsely, stems included. Keep the parsley in a separate pile so it can go in last and stay bright.
- Sear the chicken: Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Lay in the cutlets without crowding them and cook three minutes untouched, until the underside is golden and they release cleanly. Turn once and cook two to three minutes more, to 165°F at the thickest point. Move to a board and let them sit five minutes.
- Dress the bulgur: Fluff the bulgur with a fork, breaking up any clumps. Add the lemon juice, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, the rest of the pepper, the cucumber, tomatoes, and scallions, and toss well. Fold in the parsley last with a light hand so it does not wilt into the warm grain.
- Slice and serve: Cut the rested cutlets across the grain into half-inch strips and lay them over the bulgur in four bowls, pouring any juice from the board over the top. Serve warm rather than hot, which is when the lemon comes through most clearly.
Variations
- Mint and cucumber: Swap half the parsley for torn mint, which makes the bowl cooler and more fragrant in hot weather.
- Sumac chicken: Season the cutlets with a teaspoon of ground coriander seed before searing for a warm citrus note in the crust.
- Shrimp: Sear a pound of shrimp for a minute a side in place of the chicken, which cuts another five minutes off the clock.
- Radish and arugula: Add sliced radishes and a handful of arugula to the bulgur for extra pepper and crunch.
- Yogurt underneath: Spread a spoonful of cold plain Greek yogurt in the base of each bowl before the bulgur goes in.
Storage & Leftovers
The dressed bulgur keeps four days sealed in the refrigerator and gets better for the first two, since the grain goes on absorbing lemon and tomato juice. The parsley darkens slightly but keeps its flavor. Stir in a fresh spoonful of lemon juice before serving cold and it tastes freshly made.
Cooked chicken breast holds three days and is best sliced cold straight onto the bowl rather than reheated, since breast meat this thin dries out fast under a second round of heat. If you want it warm, thirty seconds in a covered pan with a spoonful of water is enough.
I would not freeze the assembled bowl, because cucumber and tomato both collapse into water on thawing. Plain cooked bulgur does freeze well for up to three months in a flat sealed bag, so make a double batch of the grain alone and you have the base for another dinner ready.
Notes & Tips
- Use boiling water, not hot tap water: Bulgur soaked in water below a boil stays chalky in the middle no matter how long it sits.
- Do not stir the bulgur while it soaks: Stirring releases starch and turns the grains sticky. Leave it covered and untouched, then fluff with a fork at the end.
- Halve the breasts horizontally: Two thin cutlets cook evenly in six minutes. A whole breast is thick at one end and will be dry there before the middle is done.
- Dress the grain warm: Warm bulgur absorbs lemon juice and oil. Cold bulgur lets the dressing pool at the bottom of the bowl.
- Chop the parsley coarsely: Minced parsley turns to green dust and disappears. Rough chopping keeps whole leaves you can actually taste.
- Rest the chicken before slicing: Five minutes on the board is the difference between juice on your plate and juice in the meat.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Chicken, bulgur, and the raw vegetables split the work in this bowl. The cutlets carry the protein, the bulgur brings the fiber and the substance underneath, and the cucumber, tomato, and parsley keep every forkful cold and sharp against the warm grain.
- Chicken breast is a close-grained, mild cut with a great deal of protein for its weight and very little fat, which is exactly why it needs a thermometer and a rest rather than more time in the pan. It also carries niacin and vitamin B6.
- Bulgur is whole wheat that has been parboiled, dried, and cracked, so the bran stays on and its fiber and magnesium come along with it. That processing is also why it needs nothing but boiling water and a lid, which is what makes this bowl possible on a weeknight.
- Parsley in this quantity behaves like a salad green rather than a herb, and it brings vitamin K, vitamin C, and folate in real amounts. Chopped coarsely with the stems in, it tastes green and faintly bitter, which is what the sweet tomato needs against it.
- Lemon juice, scallion, and black pepper are the whole dressing, and they go onto warm grain on purpose. Bulgur straight out of the bowl drinks the acid up into every grain, so the seasoning is inside the dish rather than sitting on top of it.
- As you eat, notice the temperature difference between the warm grain and the cold cucumber, and let the lemon and the parsley pull you back to the bowl when your attention drifts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I only have coarse bulgur?
Coarse bulgur needs simmering rather than soaking, which pushes this past thirty minutes. If it is what you have, cook it in plenty of water like pasta for twelve to fifteen minutes and drain it well. Fine and medium are the grinds that soak.
Can I use another grain?
Quinoa and couscous both work, though the timing changes. Couscous soaks in five minutes and is the fastest option, quinoa needs a fifteen-minute simmer plus resting. Whichever you use, dress it while it is still warm so it drinks up the lemon.
My chicken came out dry. What happened?
Usually a cutlet cooked past 165°F, and thin cutlets get there quickly. Use an instant-read thermometer, pull them at 165°F, and let them rest five minutes before slicing so the juices redistribute rather than running out onto the board.
Is a cup and a half of parsley really right?
It is, and the amount is the point. Chopped coarsely with the thin stems left in, parsley behaves like a salad green here rather than a garnish. If you find it too grassy, replace half of it with chopped mint and the bowl turns sweeter.