Greek Grain Salad Recipe - Cypriot style with Blackcurrant and Pomegranate

bulgur wheat

🥗Healthier: quinoa

💰Cheaper: couscous

Quinoa is a gluten-free option, while couscous is often less expensive.

feta cheese

🥗Healthier: tofu

💰Cheaper: ricotta

Tofu provides a dairy-free alternative, while ricotta can be a more affordable cheese.

pomegranate seeds

🥗Healthier: dried cranberries

💰Cheaper: raisins

Dried cranberries offer a similar sweetness at a lower cost.

olive oil

🥗Healthier: avocado oil

💰Cheaper: canola oil

Avocado oil has health benefits, while canola is often less expensive.

Mix the blackcurrants with the capers, so the blackcurrants absorb the vinegar juices from the capers and they plump up a little.

Toast the nuts/seeds all together, till they brown nicely. Toss them often once they begin to warm. Make sure they cool completely before adding them to the salad.

If the nuts/seeds/freekeh/lentils are still warm/hot when mixed into the salad, the heat will cook the herbs, which will not be nice! So make sure they have all cooled completely!

Mix all the salad ingredients just before serving, as you don’t want the nuts to absorb too much of the dressing and soften. You want their texture to remain crunchy.

Check the salad for EVOO, salt and lemon juice and add more as required.

This salad is beautifully delicious as it is. I find the optional yoghurt dressing masks the freshness and flavours of the salad, but taste is subjective. So try it both ways and decide which way you prefer.

This salad is the perfect side to any of your cooked meats and perfect for a Sunday barbecue. So make it and/or take it to any gathering and enjoy!

Combine 1 cup thick Greek yoghurt, 1 teaspoon ground cumin and 1 tablespoon honey (optional dressing).

If you are pressed for time or prefer the texture of bulghur to freekeh, then add 3 cups of boiling water to 1.5 cups of fine bulghur and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.

Using a fork, gently fluff the bulghur and transfer it to a large plate to cool.

Drain and rinse 2 cans of lentils, spread them across a large plate and allow them to dry out a little. Note: The canned lentils will be salted, so adjust your salt seasoning accordingly.

I use about ¾ of the bulghur and ¾ of the lentils.

Cooking Techniques

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens