I have been making variations of this in bulk over the last few weeks. It is very healthy and very filling! Bulgar wheat is one of the few “processed” food ingredients that has all “greens” on the traffic light system of food nutrition nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/h…

This recipe serves 8 as a side, but reduce to 6 portions and it will be 149 calories a portion.

Roasted Vegetable and Bulgar Wheat Salad

Preparation Time: 25 mins

Cooking Time: 45 mins – 1 hour

Serves: 8

Calories per serving: 112

Ingredients

Red Onions – 150g

Olive Oil – 23ml

Aubergine, Raw, Fresh, Average – 350g

Butternut Squash, Raw – 550g

Bulgur Wheat, Dry Weight – 100g

Lemon Juice – 1 Lemon/115g

Sumac Spice – 1 Serving/5g

Tamarind Paste – 15g

Red Peppers – 100g

Mint, Fresh – 3 Tbsps/4.8g

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.

Peel and chop the butternut squash into 1cm cubes. Remove stalk and cut aubergine into 1cm cubes. Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. Juice the lemon. De-seed and chop the pepper into bite sized pieces.

Put 15ml of the oil into a roasting dish with the butternut. Place into the centre of the oven for 15 minutes. Then add the aubergine and pepper, stirring to ensure everything is covered in the oil and continue to roast for 30-45 minutes .

In the meantime, place the remaining 8ml of oil into a small pan and heat over a low to medium heat. Add the chopped red onion and cook until softened and translucent – don’t allow to brown. Add the diced garlic and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the tamarind paste and the sumac spice, stir through. Set aside to cool.

Once the oven roasted vegetables are cooked (softened and beginning to char) remove from the oven and add the onion/garlic/tamarind – stir through to combine.

Cook the bulgar wheat according to the instructions on the packet. I cook mine in a microwave rice steamer for around 10 minutes stirring half way through.

Add the bulgar wheat to the roasted vegetable mix with the lemon juice into the dish and stir through, combining evenly.

Chop the fresh mint (place leaves in a shallow cup and chop with kitchen scissors – makes it very quick and easy!) Sprinkle onto the salad and stir through.

This can be eaten warm or cold as a salad. Filling and very tasty!  It also stores well – up to 4 days in an airtight container in a fridge.  Great to transport as part of a packed lunch or picnic.

Nutrition Data Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 111.8

Carbohydrate (g) 18.3

Fat (g) 3.4

Fibre (g) 3.9

Fruit & Veg 1.9

Protein (g) 2.7