Middle eastern Bulgur salad
A feast from the (middle) east
Bulgur is a delicious complex carbohydrate and as such will work to stabilise your blood sugar levels which is necessary for balancing the appetite and reducing food cravings. It is also significantly high in fibre which will allow you to feel fuller for longer and therefore prevent you from overeating and in between meal snacking.
Ingredients
1/2 cup Bulgur wheat
1 lemon
1 large bunch parsley ( 1 1/2 cup chopped parsley)
1 large bunch mint leaves (1/2 cup chopped mint)
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, chopped
2/3 tablespoons barberries (you can find these at Waitrose) or pomegranates
4 spring onions, chopped
1/2 small tub plain yoghurt (organic if possible)
1/4 medium sized cucumber, sliced lengthways into quarters and finely sliced horizontally 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
Method
- Place the bulgur in a small bowl and cover with hot water by 1/2-inch. Set aside to soak until softened. This will take around 20 minutes.
- As the bulgur soaks, juice the lemon. Wash and chop the parsley, mint and spring onions. Make sure that the herbs have been dried well. Chop the cucumber and cherry tomatoes.
- Drain any excess water from the bulgur once it is ready and place it in a bowl. Add 2 Tbs of olive oil, 1 Tbs of lemon juice and 1/4-1/2 Tsp salt. Add this to the grains and ensure the grains are coated in the olive oil mixture.
- Add the chopped herbs, cucumber and spring onions and barberries to the bulgur and the another 2 Tbs of olive oil and 1 Tbs of lemon juice. Mix all together. Add the cherry tomatoes last and combine into the bulgur.
- Serve on a plate with plain yoghurt.