Bulgur

Bulgur is an earthy, nutty grain that becomes fluffy once cooked. It's an ideal canvas for aromatic and sweet flavors.

There have been Lebanese living in Latin America for more than 100 years, and the community in Mexico is particularly large, so creating a Mexican version of tabbouleh is not as odd as it might seem. This version is less time-consuming than the original, because cilantro can be chopped up, stems and all, whereas parsley leaves need to be picked off the stems.

Turkish cooking might sound exotic, but it's easy. Most of the ingredients are familiar, and combining them in new ways makes for an exciting and different way to eat. This is an excellent side salad for lamb chops. For a great small-plates dinner party menu that's modern Turkish cooking at its best, pick up the May issue of Bon Appétit.

Cracked wheat, or bulgur, has a nutty, sweet taste that I love. In India, it's eaten with milk and sugar for dessert, but I like to serve it as a savory pilaf. I use chicken stock for added richness and flavor, but you can substitute vegetable stock if you want to. And, depending on what else you are serving with the pilaf, feel free to embellish with chopped fresh chiles, cilantro, and/or mint.

Shrimp transforms a Middle Eastern salad into a light yet satisfying main course.

Removing the typical cucumber from tabbouleh leaves plenty of room for fresh honeydew or any cool, sweet melon in this summer-inspired departure.

Burgul Bi Bandoura This hearty side dish is typical of everyday cooking in the Lebanese and Syrian mountains, where cracked wheat, or bulgur, is far more abundant and less expensive than rice, which is reserved for special-occasion dishes.

Kibbet Yatkeen These flavorful patties, which contain no eggs, are denser and more healthful than typical Western pancakes. In Syria, bulgur supplies the body in these patties, but in America some cooks discovered that oats make a suitable substitute. Of course, traditionalists insist on bulgur. Syrians tend to prefer their pumpkin pancakes savory and somewhat spicy, while Sephardim from Turkey and Greece generally like them slightly sweet. These might be served at a Syrian Hanukkah meal alongside bazargan (Syrian bulgur relish), yerba (stuffed grape leaves), spinach salad, and rice with pine nuts.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Joan Nathan's book The Foods of Israel Today. Nathan also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Nathan and Israeli cuisine, click here. According to the Ten Commandments, "On the seventh day thou shalt rest," which means that no cooking can be done on the Sabbath. This tradition is the reason Israel is truly the center of the world for cholent, an overnight stew. Almost all Jewish families have brought their own unique versions — with Hungarian smoked goose breast, Brazilian black beans, Moroccan rice, Bukharan turkey giblets and raisin-stuffed cucumbers, or Polish barley and meat. A dish that has experienced a rebirth even among secular Israelis in the last few years, cholent is often served as a centerpiece main course for parties, usually blending several traditions in one exciting creation. Eons ago, needing a dish that could be kept warm for the Sabbath, Jewish cooks came up with an overnight stew, the ingredients for which varied depending on where they lived. The stew was tightly sealed, often with a paste-like dough, and cooked before the Sabbath began, then left overnight in the embers to warm until the next day. During World War II, before Israelis had proper ovens, the cholent often was simmered over the small flame of a kerosene stove, the lid covered with two heavy bricks. The word cholent comes from the French chaud, meaning "warm," and lent, meaning "slow." In Israel, it is also called hamim, Hebrew for "warm." Like outdoor grilling, preparing cholent seems to have become the Israeli man's domain. It is served on every Israeli army base on Saturday, even in small military units on their own at lookout posts throughout the country, since the army, which officially observes the dietary laws, must serve a traditional Sabbath meal. This Hebronite hamim recipe was given to me by Amnon Lipkin Shachak, a former Israeli army chief of staff. He combines the Ashkenazic basic beans and barley with Sephardic sausages and the long-cooking eggs in their shells called huevos haminadav to make an innovative Sabbath dish from Hebron, the city from which part of his family hails. According to him, the recipe changes each time he makes it, depending on what he can find in the cupboard. This version requires kishke (a traditional delicacy made of flour and fat stuffed into sausage casing, today obtainable from Jewish specialty stores) and the robust and highly aromatic eastern Mediterranean spice combination of baharat (see Tips, below).

Coarsely chopped coriander seeds add a lovely floral note to this nutty Middle Eastern grain.

This vegetarian main course is hearty, healthy, and delicious.

Made with crisp radishes, salty olives, and feta, and dressed with minted olive oil and lemon, this salad really sings. Not technically a grain, but rather the seed of an herb, quinoa hails from South America. (It is often called a "supergrain" because it contains more protein than any grain.) Bulgur comes from the hulled, cracked berries of whole wheat, and has a nutty flavor.

Top with pan juices from the Chicken with Olives, Caramelized Onions, and Sage .

This dish, combining crunchy almonds and sweet apricots, tastes great with lamb or chicken.

This recipe sponsored by Black Swan Vineyards

Heres a cool combination thats excellent with salmon. Because the bulgur is not cooked, it needs to sit overnight in the dressing to soften, so begin preparing it a day ahead.