Zesty Bulgar Wheat And Watermelon Salad

Bulgar wheat is often guilty of being a wee bit bland but this salad shows?that all it requires is a little gentle coaxing to bring out its deeply nutty?flavour. And whilst watermelon may seem like an odd choice in a savoury’dish (stay with me, fruit-phobes), it really does work fantastically well in?balancing the zesty lime dressing with the spritely radish and spring onion?add-ins. Come summertime, this is the one recipe you’ll be pulling out of?your sleeve time and time again? just you wait and see.

Ingredients?

For the salad:

250g bulgar wheat

grated zest and juice of 1 lime

30ml extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon agave nectar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

6?8 radishes, finely sliced

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 small celery stick, finely sliced

1/2 watermelon, deseeded and cut

into small bite-sized pieces

30g pumpkin seeds, toasted

15g mint leaves, chopped

salt

large handful of China Rose radish

sprouts, to garnish (optional)

Method

1 Place the bulgar wheat in a large bowl along with the lime zest. Lightly’season with a little salt and stir to incorporate. Cover with 250ml of freshly?boiled water and place a plate or clingfilm over the bowl. Allow to stand for?at least 10 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork.?Set aside to cool, uncovered, for at least 15 minutes.

2 For the dressing, whisk together the lime juice, oil, agave nectar, cider?vinegar and a pinch of salt until it emulsifies. Set aside.

3 When the bulgar wheat has cooled, add the radishes, spring onions and?celery. Stir and pour over the dressing, stirring again to ensure everything is?coated. Toss in the melon, toasted pumpkin seeds and finally the mint. Taste?for seasoning and scatter over the China Rose radish sprouts, if using. Serve.

Taken from Keep it Vegan by ?ine Carlin. Published by Kyle Books, priced from ?22.55. Photography by Ali Allen.