“Bulgar” Kamut, Grilled Tofu with Spinach

“Quinoa” “Kamut” “Spelt” “Millet”….a few months ago, these words were as foreign to me as “testona” or “pappato” which are two new Italian words I learned this week.

Now, these grains are like my new best friends.  Whenever I see them listed on a food package, I get soo excited because honestly it’s not very easy to find alkaline foods in Switzerland where people live off of cheeses and chocolates.

I was recently in Torino, Italy, for a weekend and amazingly, the restaurant we went to had kamut on their menu.  It was actually the first time I’ve ever tried kamut and I was pleasantly surprised.

I had a nice conversation with the chef who shared with me some tips of making kamut.   

So what is Kamut?  Kamut is a high protein grain (30% more protein than wheat) containing a high mineral concentration (especially in selenium, zinc, and magnesium) and provides the body with more energy in the form of complex carbohydrates.  

 

 

In this recipe, I used Kamut Bulgur which is a quick-cooking form of the whole grain as it has been parboiled, dried and grounded into smaller sizes.  The advantage of this kind of bulgur is that not only does it cook much faster, I actually prefer the taste of its softer texture (similar to brown rice).  Feel free use it in replacement for any rice or cous cous recipe.

Kamut Bulgur, Grilled Tofu with Garlic Spinach
Preparation - 30 minutes
serves 2

• ½ cup of Kamut Bulgur 
•  1½ cups of vegetable broth 
•  1 block of firm tofu 
• 1 bag of pre-washed spinach (prewashed…sure, why not? It saves time!) 
•  1 garlic 
•   Olive oil 
•   Himalayan salt and pepper to taste 
•   soy cheese if you want

1. Cook ½ cup of Kamut Bulgur in the rice cooker with 1½ cups of vegetable broth.  This was enough for two people but feel free to add more kamut.  Just remember the ratio should be 1:3 (kamut:water).  Once the kamut bulgar was cooked, I added some soy cheese to spice it up a bit.  Of course, you can cook kamut in a pot over the stove but I highly recommend using a rice cooker.  It really makes cooking any type of grain a no brainer and makes life that much easier.   
2. Cut the tofu in 1 inch thick slices and grill them on a griddle pan.  Season freely with salt or your favorite seasoning.  I always use Himalayan salt which is alkaline and is considered one of the purest form of salt we can use. 
3.  Chop up the garlic.  Fry them in a pan with some olive oil til golden brown 
4.  Add your spinach to pan and stir it up.  Add a pinch of salt.  Don’t walk away! Spinach takes literally a few minutes to cook.  

Buon appetito!!!