A Californian-style salad that makes good use of juicy seasonal fruit
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
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Published
Californian salads make good use of fruit, as they have it in such abundance. This is from my own head but I like to think it’s a salad that you might find there.
Overview
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
25 mins
Serves
6
Ingredients
- 100g bulgur wheat
- 150ml vegetable or chicken stock, or water
- 100g black lentils, if you can find them, or Puy lentils
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 large fennel bulb
- 15g mint leaves
- 200g cherries, pitted
- 150g soft goat’s cheese, broken into chunks
For the dressing
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp sumac
Method
Step
Put 100g bulgur wheat in a heatproof bowl.
Step
Heat 150ml stock or water to boiling and pour this over the bulgur.
Step
Cover with a plate and leave for 20-30 minutes. The wheat will absorb the liquid. Fork the grains to make them fluffy.
Step
At the same time, cook 100g black or Puy lentils. Put them in a saucepan, add boiling water – it doesn’t matter how much – and cook until the lentils are tender (don’t let them overcook). The older the lentils, the longer they will take to cook. I always check after 20 minutes.
Step
Drain the lentils and run cold water through them. Toss the bulgur and the lentils together, and set aside.
Step
Make the dressing by whisking 1 finely grated garlic clove, 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and ¼ tsp sumac together with a fork. Taste to see whether you have enough sumac – it should taste slightly sharp and lemony.
Step
Put the juice of 1 lemon in a bowl. Trim the tops of 1 large fennel bulb then quarter it, pulling off any fronds you find (reserve them). Remove the coarse outer layer on each quarter and discard it. Trim the base.
Step
Using a very sharp knife, or a mandolin, cut the fennel into wafer-thin slices, adding it to the bowl with the lemon juice as you go (toss the fennel in the lemon juice with your hands). The lemon juice stops the fennel discolouring.
Step
Choose a broad, shallow bowl or platter for this – you want the salad to be spread out.
Step
Mix the fennel – including the lemon juice – with the bulgur and lentils, any fronds you pulled off the fennel, 15g mint leaves and three quarters of the dressing.
Step
Season well and put on the serving plate. Scatter 200g pitted cherries and 150g goat’s cheese (broken into chunks) on top and drizzle on the rest of the dressing. Serve immediately.