Bulgar and chargrilled vegetable salad with onion jam

By: Randi Glenn
From: Thrive on Five
Serves: 2
Photographer: Dan Jones

This hearty salad is inspired by the Greek flavours of feta, olives, thyme and honey. It combines the smoky taste of chargrilled vegetables with a scented sweet onion jam and is finished with mint. This is great served with grilled lamb chops.

For the onion jam

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
a little	olive oil
1	medium onion, finely sliced, (160g)
1/2 bulb	fennel, finely sliced, (80g)
small bunch	thyme, tied with string
1 tablespoon	cider vinegar
1 tablespoon	runny honey
	sea salt
	freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

Quantity	Ingredient
1	courgette, sliced lengthways, (160g)
250g	pack of asparagus spears, tough lower stems removed, (should yield about 160g)
1/2	red pepper, sliced, (80g)
70g	bulgar wheat
1 heaped tablespoon	good-quality black olives, pitted and halved, (20g)
60g	sun-blushed tomatoes, or slow-roasted tomatoes
a small bunch	mint, finely chopped, leaves
50g	feta cheese
2 tablespoons	sunflower seeds, toasted
a little	extra virgin olive oil, (optional)

Method

To make the jam, heat a little oil in a pan, add the onion, fennel, thyme, cider vinegar and honey with a pinch of salt. Cover and leave to cook over a low heat for about one hour, or until you have a thick, sweet jam, stirring and topping up with water now and again to stop the onion catching. Leave to cool. It will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
Meanwhile, heat a griddle until smoking and chargrill the courgette, asparagus and red pepper in turn. Cut the chargrilled vegetables into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Cook the bulgar wheat according to the packet instructions. Drain and season.
Mix the bulgar with the chargrilled vegetables, olives, tomatoes, onion jam and mint. Top with the feta and toasted sunflower seeds, adding a little extra virgin olive oil, if you like.

Top Tip

When tomatoes are cheap towards the end of summer, slow-roasting them and using them in all kinds of dishes is a great way to up your five-a-day.

Slow-roasted tomatoes

Slow-roasted tomatoes Preheat the oven to 130°C. Halve a couple of punnets of cherry tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and season with good-quality dried oregano, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Line a roasting tray with baking parchment and spread the tomatoes out, cut sides up. Roast in the oven for about two hours. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. (160g of fresh tomatoes yields about 60g after slow-roasting.)