Cracked Wheat Salad

I have never been a tea drinker.  I think it is the bitter after taste of the tannins that puts me off any kind of black tea. I don't even own any proper Turkish tea glasses, teaspoons or a brewing pot.

But I have always loved the tea time, ever since I was a kid, not for the tea itself, but rather for the variety of delicious food and stories that accompanied it.

The guests would share anecdotes from their exchanges with their husbands, children and other important topics such as the best way to remove oily stains from the carpet, a new brand of butter that makes pastry puff like no other, or the cost of a kilogram of tomatoes at the suburb's weekly market.

Peynirli pogaca (cheese and parsley empanadas), ispanakli borek (spinach filo pastry), kisir (cracked wheat salad), ortasi delik kakaolu kek (cocoa bunt cake) and elmali kurabiye (stewed apple pastry rolls) were some of the usual suspects that I would fill my plate with and eat in a state of delirium as I listened to the conversation going on around me.

Some of the above require a certain amount of patience and preparation and are reserved for tea parties or special occasions. But kisir is one that is very easy to make, can be made almost in a heartbeat and is always a crowd pleaser.

In our house, it is also an all time favorite of both my husband's and mine, so we tend to make it more often than I can dare to confess.

Traditionally, kisir is served with cos lettuce leaves on the side so that you can roll spoons of it in the leaves. It is best to make it on the day, many hours ahead but if you have any left overs, it is great to have it the next day.

Some may add chopped cucumber pickles and tomatoes to it but I like it as is. You can adjust the spices to your liking but I like making mine mild and my husband, who likes it hotter, adds more chili flakes on his share.

I sometimes add some grilled and chopped pieces of chicken breast to it and top it with some Greek yoghurt as a quick and yummy week night dinner.

Kisir (Cracked Wheat Salad)

Ingredients:

2 cups of cracked wheat*
1 large brown onion
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 teaspoon each of ground cumin, dried mint and sumac
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon each of sugar, salt and black pepper
Juice of 2 lemons**
1/2 bunch each of spring onions and parsley, finely chopped



* If you cannot find cracked wheat from your health food store, then you can use couscous from the supermarket instead but adjust the amount of water according to your packet instructions.

** If you happen to have it at home or can buy unsweetened pomegranate syrup, then add 2 tablespoons of pomegranate syrup and juice of only one lemon.

Here is how:

Finely chop the brown onion in a food processor. Put the olive oil and chopped onions in a large saucepan and over low heat saute the onions until they are transparent.

Add the sugar, salt, pepper and tomato paste, and stir until the paste changes its color. Add the spices and stir for one more minute until you can smell the spices. Turn off the heat.

Add the cracked wheat to the saucepan and stir until well combined.

Pour 2,5 cup of boiling water on top of the mixture, stir to combine and close the lid. Leave aside for about 20-30 minutes to let the wheat soak up the water and soften.

Once cooled, add the pomegranate syrup (if using), lemon juice, chopped parsley and spring onions and stir well until it is combined and serve.

Afiyet Olsun!