Our first couch surfing adventure over, we moved on to a hotel in Bariloche for one last night. We sprung for the extra $15 it would cost to get a room with a little kitchenette, figuring we would likely spend that much or more on dinner anyway. There is a two burner hotplate, a microwave and mini fridge, a few pans, a kettle and a cutting board. We had some bulgur wheat we brought from Buenos Aires so we decided to use that and supplement it with a trip to the grocery store across the street from our hotel. We didn’t want to get a whole lot of food since it is just for one night and we have no desire to transport a slightly used onion or other vegetables with us on our 20 hour bus ride back to Buenos Aires. We picked up an onion, an avocado, a bell pepper, a lemon and a handful of spinach. When it was all said and done, we spent less than $4 on this meal and we will get lunch out of it tomorrow to boot!
We were both pleasantly surprised at how tasty and easy this meal was, plus there were enough leftovers that we will have it to enjoy for our lunch tomorrow before we set off to try the infamous chocolates of Bariloche and board our bus for Buenos Aires. We cooked half of the onions to prevent them from overpowering the salad, instead they were mellow and sweet. If you don’t have oil, add a little water to the pan to saute your onions. If they get dry, sprinkle a little more water on them.
Lemony Spinach & Avocado Bulgur Salad:
Serves 4
1 Bunch spinach, washed and chopped
1 Small onion, peeled and chopped
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Avocado, halved, pitted and chopped
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/2 cup Dry Bulgur Wheat
1 Cup Water
1. Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat, add bulgur and half of the lemon juice. Cover and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, chop all your vegetables, toss the spinach and bell pepper together in a large bowl.
3. Add bulgur to spinach and bell pepper mixture, toss well
4. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat, add half the onion and cook until soft and starting to brown, adding water if the onions get dry. Toss cooked onion with bulgur mix, top with chopped avocado and lemon juice. Stir gently to combine and enjoy!
