Salads are often pushed into the background, to be enjoyed as a side dish or first course. But salads can be meals in their own right and a lot of the lunches I make to take with me to work are salads. These salads have to be nourishing enough to get me through the rest of the day until dinner, but not too heavy that they make me want to crawl under my desk and take a nap at 2 pm.
I try to prepare things to take with me when I know I’ll be traveling around lunch or dinner time on a train. But that doesn’t always happen and then I look for something to buy at the station. Sometimes I run around in circles trying to find something I want to eat, because that sandwich I always get is starting to come out my ears. There was a place I wanted to try, but one look at the prices had me walking out backwards. When on a train trip to a wedding, I decided I could splurge and bought the couscous salad I had been eyeballing at the pricey place.
I was not disappointed. In fact, I even went back and bought it again for another trip. But then I decided twice was enough, and surely I could recreate it at home? When I went to Germany last weekend to visit my mother, I made this salad the night before, put it in a container and then had it for dinner the next day while on the train. The texture is different since I used bulgur instead of couscous, which also gives it an earthier taste, but I like it just as much.
The peas and raisins give the salad a subtle sweetness, while the lemon make it a little tart, and yogurt balances everything out. Season the salad to your liking. Depending on how much juice the lemon gives you, you may want to use a little less if it’s too tart. Feel free to use quinoa or couscous in place of the bulgur. As mentioned before, this salad is easily made the day before.
Bulgur salad with peas and herbs
- 100 g bulgur
- 85 g raisins
- 130 g frozen peas
- 10 g chives, finely chopped
- 20 g parsley, finely chopped
- 30 g mint, finely chopped
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- salt & freshly ground pepper
- plain yogurt or crumbled feta to serve
Place the bulgur and the raisins in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them sit while preparing the rest of the salad. When the bulgur is soft, about 15-20 min, drain.
Place the peas in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil und cook until heated through, but not mushy and still bright green. Drain and cool, then place in a large bowl. Add the herbs, scallion, bulgur and raisins. Toss with the lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with plain yogurt.
