Bulgar & Butternut Squash Side Dish

There were a few reasons to make this dish, which is based on a recipe I found in my Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health book:

1. I needed a side dish to go with the Tex-Mex stuffed portabella mushrooms I plan to make for Wednesday's dinner (recipe from this same cookbook).


2. I needed to use up the rest of the butternut squash I had, after making the chickpea chili.


3. I needed to come up with a good pre-workout snack that had complex ("good") carbs and other good stuff.

I found a recipe for quinoa and sweet potatoes, and decided to adapt it to what I had--bulgar and butternut squash. Bulgar is a whole grain that has lots of protein and fiber, plus lots of vitamins and minerals.

Bulgar & Butternut Squash

• 2 cups cooked bulgar


• 1 Tbs. olive oil


• 1 cup diced onions


• 1/2 teas. salt


• about 2 cups diced butternut squash


• 2 cups lightly packed finely chopped fresh spinach


• 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts


• 1/2 cup dried cranberries


• 2 Tbs. minced scallions


• 1 Tbs. lemon juice


• salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil then add butternut squash. Cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil and cook onions and salt over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes. Turn off heat. Add butternut squash, bulgar and rest of ingredients to pot. Stir to mix. Season as desired.

I've only had a few bites of this so far, but it's really pretty tasty. There's a lot you can do with it--add other foods or take some out. I can't decide yet if it'd be better hot or cold--I think it would work both ways! You could also add some cooked ground chicken, turkey or beef if you wanted to make it a full, well-rounded and healthy meal.