Here is a recipe for one of those summer days when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  Bulgur is not only a nutritious and versatile wheat but it requires no actual cooking. It just needs to be soaked in water for few minutes and it’s done. How easy is that? I used both quinoa and bulgur but you can certainly use one or the other. I also happen to have mint growing everywhere in my garden. I love to put mint in my water, tea, simple syrup, salads, you name it. That’s why making a mint dressing for this refreshing salad only felt like the right thing to do 🙂
I also used mango, one of my all time favorite fruits!!!! The celery and jicama give the salad a nice crunch. This salad can be served at room temperature so it is perfect to bring to a summer picnic. I hope you get inspired to try this recipe for an easy and refreshing summer treat. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients (serves 6)

1/2 Cup Bulgur Wheat*                 
1/2 Cup Quinoa*
1/4 Celery (diced)
1/2 Cup Red Pepper (diced)
1/2 Cup Mango (diced)
1/2 Jicama (diced)
Cilantro leaves
Mint leaves

For the dressing

1 Clove Garlic
1/2 Lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1 Cup Mint leaves
2 Tbsp. Agave
1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Quinoa
Wash the quinoa under running water. In a bowl add the quinoa & 2 cups of cold water and let it soak for 10 minutes. Bring 1/3 cup water to a boil. Add 1/4 tsp. of salt. Strain the quinoa and add it to the boiling water. Cook on medium heat 15 minutes. Turn it off cover and let it sit for about 10 minutes then fluff with a fork.
TIP: When I am going to use quinoa for a quick salad I cook it the night before, while getting things ready for the next day. When it’s cooled, I transfer it to a container with a tight lid and put it in the fridge, that way it will be ready when I come home from work and I just have to dice the rest of the ingredients and mix.

Bulgur
In a bowl mix the bulgur with 1 cup of boiling water, cover and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Make the dressing
In a blender or food processor add the garlic, lemon, mint & agave and blend for 1 minute. Open the top of the blender and add the olive oil slowly. Stop blending and season with salt and pepper.

In a bowl mix all the ingredients for the salad. Add the dressing and combine. Serve cold or at room temperature. Garnish with mint leaves.

* Half a cup uncooked will yield a full cup of cooked Bulgur. Same applies to Quinoa