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Turkish-Style Tomato Bulgur Salad with Feta and Pumpkin Seeds

Fine bulgur wheat soaked with tomato purée and cumin, then tossed with pepper, tomato, red onion, herbs and lemon and topped with feta and pumpkin seeds. Served with a simple avocado side salad, ready in 25 minutes.

Lunch

25

Serves 2

A grey plate of tomato-red bulgur salad with diced pepper and red onion, crumbled feta and pumpkin seeds, next to a bowl of green salad with avocado and carrot on a dark table

Ingredients

  • 100g/3½oz fine bulgur wheat (about ½ cup; not coarse bulgur, which needs simmering)
  • 175ml/¾ cup boiling water from the kettle
  • 1 tbsp (15g) tomato purée (paste)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin and a pinch of chilli flakes
  • 1 red pepper (about 150g/5oz), finely diced
  • 2 medium tomatoes (about 160g/5½oz), finely diced
  • ¼ small red onion (about 40g/1½oz), finely chopped
  • A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 15g), finely chopped
  • A few sprigs of mint (about 5g), leaves finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp (30ml) lemon juice
  • 2 tsp (10ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • 80g/3oz feta, crumbled
  • 2 tbsp (20g) pumpkin seeds
  • ¼ tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper
  • For the side salad: 60g/2oz mixed salad leaves or romaine, 1 small carrot (about 60g/2oz) peeled into ribbons, and ½ avocado (about 70g/2½oz flesh), sliced

Method

  1. Put the bulgur, tomato purée, cumin, chilli flakes and salt in a heatproof bowl. Pour over the boiling water, stir well, cover with a plate and leave for 10 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender.
  2. Meanwhile, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan, until they start to pop. Tip onto a plate. Chop the pepper, tomatoes, onion and herbs.
  3. Fluff the bulgur with a fork and leave to cool for a couple of minutes. Stir in the pepper, tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper. Taste and add a little more lemon juice if you like.
  4. Divide between two plates and top with the feta and pumpkin seeds. Arrange the salad leaves, carrot ribbons and avocado in a bowl on the side, with a squeeze of lemon over the salad.
  5. To make ahead, keep the bulgur salad (without the feta and seeds) in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days, and add the toppings and side salad when you eat.

Why it works

A plate gives you about 19g of protein and 13g of fibre for 519 calories, including the side salad. That is over 40% of the 30g of fibre a day recommended for adults in the UK.

Why bulgur. Bulgur is wholewheat that has been cooked, dried and cracked, so the fine kind only needs soaking in boiling water, with no cooking. This salad is inspired by Turkish kısır, a bulgur salad made with tomato and pepper paste; we use tomato purée, which is easier to find.

Tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Red peppers are one of the richest vegetable sources of vitamin C, and tomatoes and tomato purée provide lycopene. Feta and pumpkin seeds add protein, and the seeds add magnesium and zinc.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. With 48g of carbohydrate, mostly from a whole grain, and plenty of fibre, this lunch is less likely to cause a sharp rise in blood sugar than a white bread sandwich.

Contains wheat (gluten) and milk. Free from eggs, nuts, peanuts, soya and sesame as written. Some feta is made with animal rennet, so check it is labelled suitable for vegetarians. For another feta salad, try the Greek salad with chickpeas and feta.