I wish this combination was my idea. I scoured the web for ideas on what to bring to the staff Christmas luncheon last Friday afternoon for the vegans and vegetarians on staff. (I'm included in that group). I visited Heidi Swanson's site at www.101cookbooks.com. She has a great photo of her bulgur and pomegranate salad on her blog. I adapted the recipe here to include the nuts I had available as well as the fresh herbs in my garden. It's a perfect salad to serve at a luncheon as you can make it the night before, and toss in the toasted nuts in the morning. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve. It will serve 8-10 people as a side dish.

Bulgur Pomegranate Celery Salad
Adapted from Heidi Swanson
Serves 8-10 as a side dish

1 cup red bulgur wheat
2 cups water
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pomegranate, reserve seeds and juice
3-4 stalks of celery (I used relatively short stalks)
2T fresh mint, chopped
2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
4oz of pine nuts, toasted
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly ground sea salt

Combine bulgur and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Fluff with a fork after 15-20 mins.

While the bulgur is cooking, cut and separate the pomegranate. Reserve 3-4 tablespoons of juice in a small bowl and set the seeds to the side to further drain. If you need to make juice, crush the seeds to make more.  Chop celery, shallot, garlic, and mint. Set vegetables and spices to the side. Cool bulgur.

Toast the pine nuts in two batches in a dry saucepan or frying pan. Use medium heat and stir constantly until the pine nuts turn golden brown on all sides. Set aside to cool. Toss pine nuts with a small amount of sea salt.

Combine bulgur, celery, and shallot in a bowl. Gently toss in the pomegranate seeds. In a small measuring cup, combine reserved pomegranate juice, 2-3T olive oil, garlic, mint, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour on top of the bulgur salad. Gently fold in the dressing, cover, and refrigerate. If you're making the salad to serve immediately or within the next few hours, fold in the pine nuts gently through the salad with the dressing. If you will wait to serve the salad until the next day, fold in the pine nuts that morning.  Refrigerate the salad until ready, or serve at room temperature.

A Millet & Bean Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Walnuts

Saturday, I quickly whipped up a millet and bean salad to take to Matt's parent's tomorrow for lunch. Matt's birthday is this  Sunday, and we're meeting with his family to celebrate his birthday and review our travel plans to Germany. I'm coming with a grain salad and an updated Naan Sheer, a sweet Persian flatbread. If your pantry is stocked with items like mine with a variety of grains, vinegars, and dried fruits and vegetables, you can easily whip up a grain salad. Although I used dried cranberry beans, I would imagine any long red bean, similar to a Kidney Bean, would work well in this recipe. This salad is particularly rich in protein and fiber.


Millet & Bean Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Walnuts
Serves 10-12

1 cup of millet
1 can of Eden's Black Soy Beans
15oz Cranberry Beans or 1 can of long Red Beans (I used dried Cranberry beans, soaked them over night, and cooked them briefly until tender.)
4 carrots, peeled and diced thin
1/4 cup red onion (or combination of shallots/onions) chopped
1 long red banana pepper, diced (adds a little heat. if you prefer use a mild bell pepper)
12 plain sun dried tomatoes, briefly rehydrated in warm water, sliced and cut thin
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh Basil and Parsley, measure before tearing or cutting into small pieces
1/2 cup of toasted and chopped walnuts

Dressing:
1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 Tablespoon of Agave nectar (a light honey could be substituted)
juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons of plum vinegar
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparations:

Place millet into a medium stockpot, cover with water about 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer. 15-20minutes.  If water remains after 15mins, raise temperature, and fluff grain occasionally to ensure even absorption and evaporation. Millet will have the texture of couscous if prepared in this manner.

While millet cooks, rinse and drain canned beans and set inside a large bowl. Add the chopped carrots, onions, garlic, and banana pepper. Gently toss. If millet has cooked, make sure it is light and fluffy. Set aside to cool.

Set walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven 350 degrees for 5-10 mins. Set aside, chop when cool.

While millet and walnuts are cooling, rinse and pat dry the herbs. Chop herbs and set to the side. Add cooled millet and walnuts to the salad and gently fold. Add in the herbs. Make dressing in a small mixing bowl. Whisk together olive oil, salt, agave nectar, lemon juice, vinegar and pepper.  Pour on top of the grain salad, gently toss and refrigerate until ready.  Add additional vinegar and oil to taste directly in salad bowl if necessary.

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