Sassy Bean & Bulgur

This vegetarian bake packs red kidney beans, bulgur wheat, and brown rice into one satisfying dish with mushrooms, carrots, and scallions bound together with tomato sauce. Served on a bed of fresh spinach leaves, the warm grain-and-bean mixture wilts the greens just enough.

The combination of bulgur and brown rice gives you two different textures of whole grain in every bite. Bulgur is chewy and nutty, rice is soft and starchy, and together they create a more interesting base than either would alone.

Twenty minutes in the oven warms everything through and lets the tomato sauce concentrate slightly, pulling all the flavors together into a cohesive dish rather than a loose mix of grains and vegetables.

Kitchen Tips

• Use pre-cooked beans, bulgur, and rice. This recipe is about assembly, not cooking grains from scratch
• Slice the mushrooms and carrots thin so they soften during the short bake time
• Don’t mix the spinach into the bake. Laying it fresh on the plate and spooning the hot mixture on top gives you the best contrast of warm and cool, cooked and raw
• A squeeze of lemon juice over the finished plate brightens everything up

Variations

• Use black beans instead of kidney beans for a milder flavor
• Add cumin and chili powder for a Southwestern spin
• Top with crumbled feta or a dollop of plain yogurt for a creamy contrast