The chewy bulgur, along with the crunch of the nuts and pomegranate seeds and the freshness of the herbs is a tasty accompaniment to preserved meats.
| 100 g | bulgur wheat |
| ½ bunch | celery, separated, washed and trimmed, keep leaves |
| 1 sm | pink lady apple |
| juice 1 lemon | |
| 2 T | olive oil |
| handful | toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped |
| 1 | red chile, deseeded and chopped |
| lg handful | pomegranate seeds (optional) |
| celery leaves, chopped | |
| handful | parsley, chopped |
| handful | mint leaves, chopped |
| handful | fresh tarragon, chopped |
Put the bulgur wheat in a large bowl and just cover with boiling water. Cover the bowl and leave for 30 minutes to absorb all the water.
Meanwhile, separate the sticks of celery and set the leaves aside. Very finely slice the celery and roughly chop the leaves. Cut the apple into fine matchsticks and toss in a little lemon juice.
Make a simple dressing: whisk the remaining lemon juice with the oil and season to taste. Go easy on the salt as the meats will provide lots of salty flavour on the board.
Gently fluff up the bulgur with a fork. Mix the sliced celery and apple through the bulgur, followed by the nuts, chile, pomegranate seeds and herbs. Drizzle over the dressing and toss everything together gently. Do not overmix. Place in a shallow bowl on the charcuterie board.
Keeps for one week. Leftovers make a very nice lunch.