Sprouts and bulghar salad

I picked up some sprouted beans at the international supermarket in Brighton last weekend with a few little plans in mind. I liked the idea of adding their crunchiness to a salad, and thought I'd try partnering them with a grain I've only ever used in bread so far: bulghar wheat. Actually no, I did make tabbouleh with it once but I found the combination of parsley, mint and lemon just too much and have never gone back. This time I soaked the bulghar wheat in some stock for some extra flavour, and then mixed in the sprouts and an assortment of other things I had in the fridge - cherry toms, cucumber, red onion and chives. I've stashed it in a box to take on a research trip tomorrow, but plan to drizzle a little oil and lemon juice over it before I set off. It tasted very good undressed, but I think that the dressing will add a little extra zing. The bulghar and sprouts together are a nice combination of bite and crunch, so I may even have laid the ghost of the tabbouleh to rest. This is my contribution to Lisa and Holler's No Croutons Required event, which features legumes this month.


Here's a gratuitous picture of The Scientist's tecchie sidekick

Sprouts and bulghar salad

Serves 2

Put 1/2 cup of bulghar wheat in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Add some stock powder and stir. Leave to soak up the liquid for 10-15 mins until the grains are soft.

Add assorted sprouted beans, some chopped cherry tomatoes, cucumber and red onion. Snip in fresh herbs of your choice - I used chives though parsley and mint are traditional.

Before serving, drizzle over some olive oil and lemon juice.