Bulgur and Raisin Salad with Goat Cheese
A recipe for Seudah Shlishit.
If you find yourself sitting down to eat at synagogue late Saturday afternoon, don't expect much from the menu. Where you're treated to nice meals on Friday night and Saturday for lunch, seudah shelishit, the third meal on Shabbat, is likely to be a sad conglomeration of mayonnaise-heavy salads, greasy kugels, and dry cakes.
According to the Shulhan Arukh it is preferable to eat bread at seudah shelishit, but if you are too full from lunch it is permissible to eat a slice of cake or a piece of fruit instead (OH 291:7). Most people do not say kiddush at seudah shlishit, but some do have the custom of saying just the blessing over wine, without any of the preamble found in the special kiddush liturgy for Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
So what can you do to make this obligatory meal something to look forward to? Step 1: Put away the mayonnaise. Just because the meal is typically heavy on the salads doesn't mean that is has to be incredibly unhealthy. Here you'll find three recipes that are perfect for any seudah shelishit. They call for little to no prep work before Shabbat, and they yield delicious results without ever summoning a jar of Miracle Whip.
For this recipe cook the bulgur before Shabbat and put the raisins in whiskey to soak. Everything else can be assembled in a few minutes on Shabbat afternoon.
Besides this great salad, try a chickpea salad with cucumbers and sun-dried tomatoes, and Brownie Gems for dessert.
Ingredients
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
Splash of hot sauce (Tabasco or something similar)
1-2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 cup pine nuts
5 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 Tablespoon sugar
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 cup whiskey (optional; I use bourbon, but any whiskey will do)
1 cup bulgur (or 2 cups wheatberries or barley)
Directions
Cook bulgur (or wheatberries or barley) ahead of time. Put the whiskey in a bowl, add the raisins and sugar, and allow to soak for at least an hour, up to a day. Then drain and reserve the whiskey (you'll use it in the dressing). Add the raisins to the bulgur.
Put the crumbled goat cheese in a small bowl, and add the splash of hot sauce, tossing so the hot sauce is evenly distributed. Add the cheese to the bulgur. Then add the pine nuts and spinach leaves.
To make the dressing, combine the whiskey, olive oil, and lemon juice. Pour over the bulgur mixture and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste.
seudah
Pronounced: seh-ooh-DAH, or SUE-duh, Origin: Hebrew, meal, usually on a holiday or at a lifecycle event.
Shabbat
Pronounced: shuh-BAHT or shah-BAHT, Origin: Hebrew, the Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
