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.