Cups
Those of you in America will be well versed with cups as a form of measurement but in the UK it’s less of a thing. So whilst there are special cups you can get for this purpose, if you don’t have them, simply use a mug. Here the only thing that really matters is the ratio - so you may end up with slightly more than if you use the proper cup measurement but that’s not the end of the world.

A note on bulgur wheat
I always get the fine variety as it’s just so quick and easy to cook. You cook it the same as you would cous cous, in the fact you don’t really cook it at all. You just cover it with boiling water (I always use stock as it’s just an extra chance to get in more flavour) and leave it to sit. The ratio is 1:2 in favour of the liquid. I actually cooked 1 cup of the bulgur this week and cooking it this way resulted in about 3 cups of cooked bulgar which I was very happy for as it was lunch the next day but I’ve written the recipe here for 1/2 cup which should give you the right serving for 2 people. (This slightly depends on how much veg you add, so it’s hard to be really exact with the serving size). I always add in flavourings before I add the liquid, salt and pepper, lemon zest, grated garlic, dried herbs, chilli flakes - whatever you like but it just adds more flavour for very minimal effort.

The more chunky variety requires actual cooking which is still simple so no problem if that’s all you can find but it’s important to know which kind you have.

Also as mentioned, you could sub bulgur wheat for puy lentils, cous cous, giant cous cous, pearl barley, rice (brown or white). All with work in the same way after you’ve cooked them and all will be delicious).

The vinaigrette is optional - I want to stress this.
I hate giving recipes with really long lists of ingredients, but in my defence, lots of these ingredients are used in different ways throughout the recipe so you already have them! Or you are likely to have them to hand! And also this step is optional - it’s just an added extra which I like to do for a bit of sweet heat. It tastes so good but even without it, the salad is going to be great. You could even just drizzle in a little honey, add a splash of olive oil and mix it all up and that would be great too. Don’t go overboard with the honey, this isn’t a pudding after all. We just want a little hint. You know I’m all about the layers of flavour.

You won’t use it all for this recipe but it’s a lovely vinaigrette that will keep happily in the fridge and will jazz up the most sad looking salad leaves when you want it.

Vegetables
I know you could just roast the red pepper, but I love the jarred ones, roasted peppers are so much nicer when charred and this cant easily be achieved in the oven so I prefer to buy them ready done. If you have the energy, red peppers re amazing charred on a gas burner, get them really nice and charred and then place in a bowl and cover in clingfilm. Once cool you can peel off the skin and chop them up. V good but as I said I rarely have the energy for this these days. I love the combination of red onion and courgette, but aubergine would also be delicious, and I do that often. Add cauliflower florets to your baking tray, or chickpeas. Toss in some finely sliced baby spinach at the end with the herbs. Use basil, parsley, coriander or a mix of all. Throw in some sliced cherry tomatoes, some pitted black olives, some artichoke hearts. Really anything goes and use what you have.

Herbs as a salad
Don’t be afraid of herbs, chopped up and tossed through things, they are great, but I also love them whole in place of salad leaves. A mix of rocket and basil leaves is so lovely here, but whole parsley would also be v good and any green leaf. I love baby spinach, but I love it more thinly sliced - really delicious and very good for you.

Margie you made me buy a jar of red pesto, now what?
I hear you! Don’t worry, first it will sit in the fridge happily for a while but there are lots of delicious things you can do with it. Here are just a few ideas.

Add some mozzarella balls to a bowl and drizzle in olive oil, some red pesto, fresh basil, salt and pepper. Toss them around and then use to top hot crusty bread in a very delicious bruschetta style starter.

Stir through hot pasta and top with plenty of parmesan

Layer onto focaccia for an excellent layer in a sandwich. I’m thinking grilled aubergine, mozzarella, tomato and rocket. Yum.

Spread onto chicken breasts, top with a slice of mozzarella and basil and then wrap in parma ham before baking.

Excellent with cod, baked in the oven with tomato and chorizo. Served with rocket and balsamic.

And that’s it for this week. I hope you make this and I hope you love it.