Colors of the Autumn Bulgur Wheat Salad

This is an absolutely fantastic, sweet and sour tabuleh-like bulgur wheat salad to go with the turkey. What's more, it is really easy to make! No cooking skills required. Quantities indicated are just guidelines, just like, as a matter of fact, the ingredients. If you don't like one of them, skip it and feel free to add your favorite autumn veggies. I was planning to boost the salad with grilled fennel, but it was unavailable at the local market.

250 g bulgur wheat

1 orange

1 pomegranate

250 g cherry tomatoes, various colors

a piece of goat cheese

2-3 green onions

a handful of chestnuts

3 stalks of mint

a bunch of flat-leaf parsley

120g extra virgin olive oil

50 ml orange juice

3 -4 tablespoons of sliced almond

a piece of quince jelly

salt, pepper, sumac

Since the bulgur wheat requires only a short time cooking, the key thing is to start with getting all ingredients cleaned and chopped. Firstly, make cuts on the chestnuts and cook them for about 30-35 minutes, depending on their size. Then peel them while still warm removing the inner skin also. Chop them.

Cut the bigger tomatoes in half, leave the small ones in one piece. Remove the pomegranate seeds.

Cut small pieces of the orange, chop the parsley, the mint as well as the green onion and the quince jelly. Roast the almonds.

Rinse the bulgur wheat thoroughly then put it in the saucepan with equal amount of water and a large pinch of salt. Bring it to boil, let it cook for 2-3 minutes then turn the heat off and cover the saucepan. Let it stand for approximately 10 minutes until the water is absorbed.

While waiting, mix the orange juice and the olive oil.

After all this done, you should end up with something like this. All you have left to do, is mix everything together in a large bowl. It's better to do it while the bulgur is still warm so that it would absorb the dressing and the juice of the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with salt, black pepper and sumac. Enjoy!