bulgur wheat salad with pomegranate molasses

Bulgar wheat salad with pomegranate molasses keeps company with nuts and parsley to produce a dish with texture and tang. Lebanon’s most famous salad, “tabbouleh“, is often thought of as a bulgur wheat salad. However, the main ingredient is parsley, as Lebanese food writer and chef, Anissa Helou, points out. This recipe puts bulgur wheat at the centre, with a delicious sweet sour pomegranate dressing – an impressive and nourishing salad easily made with a touch of chopping.The handy thing about bulgur wheat is that it’s parboiled, so only needs to be soaked in boiling water and given time to swell.  When warm it absorbs flavours well, and is a perfect vehicle for the citrusy zing of Zejd’s pomegranate molasses. With the added crunch from the nuts, green from the parsley, the beautiful pomegranate seeds add a jewel-like touch to a healthy salad.

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients.  This recipe from Claudia Roden’s recipe book The Med uses a variety of nuts, but use whatever you’ve got in the cupboard – it’s a forgiving salad.  The spices and the pomegranate molasses are useful ingredients for your kitchen cupboard, providing interesting flavours for many a recipe The pomegranate seeds are not essential but look beautiful.

Any left-over salad is a useful portable lunch the following day.

serves 6