Bulgur has a nice firm bite and is a great base for this salad with smoked chicken and nuts. A recipe from the fair trade cookbook by Floortje Dessing.
Preparation time:20 minutes (plus 15 minutes rest)
Ingredients for 4 people
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 200 g bulgur
• mild olive oil
• 150 g date pieces or 150 g coarsely chopped dates
• 150 g roasted cashew nuts
• seeds from 1 large pomegranate or 100 g fresh red berries
• 1 fresh sweet apple, peeled and cut into pieces (the same size as the date pieces)
• leaves of 6 sprigs fresh mint, finely chopped
• leaves of 10 sprigs of fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 200 g smoked chicken strips
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• juice of 2 to 3 ( small) lemons
Preparation
1. Fry the shallot in a dash of olive oil (do not let it brown), add the bulgur, fry for half a minute, turn the heat to low and pour hot water (from the kettle) into the bulgur until it is about 1 cm under water .
2. Turn off the heat, put a lid on the pan and let it rest for about 15 minutes until the water has been absorbed. In a large bowl or bowl, stir the bulgur with a fork and let it cool slightly.
3. Mix the remaining ingredients through the bulgur.
4. Season with pepper, salt, lemon juice and olive oil.
5. Serve with crusty bread with olive oil and coarse sea salt for dipping the bread.
Tips
– Use feta or smoked mackerel instead of chicken.
– Replace some of the fruits with vegetables (cucumber, cherry tomatoes).
– 
Couscous is a great alternative to bulgur.
– Sensitive to gluten? Use buckwheat or millet instead of bulgur.
This is a recipe from Floortje Dessing's book Fair food. The 80 recipes in the book are written by passionate chefs and foodies. The cookbook is an initiative of the Max Havelaar Foundation, Fair Trade Original and the National Association of World Shops. . Honest food is available from this week at bookstores and Wereldwinkels for €24.95. The proceeds are intended for a nursery on a fair-trade tea plantation in Sri Lanka.
