The Odd Fork

Everything started when the Odd Fork discovered a forgotten pack of bulgur wheat in the kitchen closet. It may seem strange, but the Odd Fork wasn't so familiar with bulgur until now. OK, it was time to fix this!

For a first try, what else could be better than a nice tabbouleh salad full of color and vitamins? Of course, it couldn't be made the usual, typical way, but according to the Odd Fork's different way!

If you want to try it too, just boil the bulgur in twice amount of water (e.g. 1 cup bulgur, 2 cups water) for 10 - 15 minutes, until it softens and there are no liquids, like rice. Meanwhile, peel a medium pomegranate and remove the seeds. Wash and chop some fresh parsley, wash and grate 2 medium carrots and mix with the bulgur adding also some chopped mini tomatoes and some black raisins. Add olive oil and lemon to taste. Add salt if desired and mix everything very well.

Ready! It was so delicious that the Odd Fork didn't add any salt at all. It proved to be ideal after the Odd Fork's evening workout, as a light dinner.

The origin of the cheapest, easiest and most aromatic salad that the Odd Fork has ever pinched, is lost in the depths of time and the branches of its family tree. The once little Fork would often see its grandmother preparing this salad for a light dinner. Since then, the whole family loved her recipe. 

It is already revealed from the tittle that the basic ingredient, is orange! And a couple of more stuff easily found at home.

For the plate in the photo above, the Odd Fork peeled and sliced two medium oranges. Greek Merlin oranges are the best. It drizzled with good quality virgin Greek olive oil and seasoned with salt and sweet red paprika, the spice which is widely loved in the beautiful island of Corfu. The Odd Fork  also added some Greek black olives from Kalamata (a.k.a. Kalamon Olives) and the salad was ready!

With this as a base, some people in Corfu or Epirus add onion (fresh spring onion or bulb onion) and Greek feta cheese. Odd Fork's favorite option is with no onion, just with olives and feta cheese. It loves to dunk fresh bread into the salad juices while eating the salad, the orange - paprika flavored olive oil is so perfectly matched with the feta cheese and the salad is a full, balanced meal for it.

Of course, you can serve this salad with fish or chicken fillet and drink with it a nice, fruity white wine!

One day (fading to night), when the Odd Fork walked through dark forests and strange, secret gardens, it came across this pumpkin:



And because it immediately realized that the pumpkin was enchanted, with great care not to awake the malicious forest spirit, the Odd Fork cut it and brought it home! When it cut it with a knife in the middle, the magical aromas that emanated and the pumpkin's lovely taste - something like fresh melon and carrot together - led to the creation of a wonderful salad with raw pumpkin!

A sachet of fresh, tender rocket and baby spinach leaves from the supermarket (no way of going back again in the enchanted forest!) were the base of the salad.
In a cup of aromatic tea (no sugar added of course), the Odd Fork soaked a few black raisins. It cut a pumpkin piece, removed the peel and grated it. The pumpkin strips should be neither too thin, nor too thick, almost like matchboxes in order to make the salad crunchy!



The Odd Fork mixed the greens leaves with the grated pumpkin, added a few pomegranate seeds, some chopped walnuts, the raisins, a little salt and finally it drizzled the salad with a light and very aromatic dressing which it prepared very easily by whisking olive oil, white vinegar, a little of orange juice, a teaspoon of honey, some orange zest and a little bit of freshly ground ginger.

All the ingredients matched perfectly with each other and the salad was fantastic. It could be even served as a Christmas salad -the Odd Fork thought that it would be ideal.
So do yourself a favor and next time you'll buy a pumpkin to make a pie, keep a piece of it aside and make this salad -you will not regret it!