Bulgur & Chickpea Salad

Here’s nice side dish I made for dinner this weekend.  It’s pretty easy and very cheap!  Also great for hot weather, since it’s served cold.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups bulgur wheat
• 2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 3 cups loosely-packed chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (our was from our lemon tree!)
• 1.5 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 7 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

(sidenote:  there is cilantro in the picture.  I messed up a bit — the cilantro was for the main course recipe, not the salad!  my bad!)

Directions:

In a large bowl, soak the bulgur in cold water for 20 minutes, or until soft.  It should have a consistency like cooked brown rice.  Drain the water out of the bulgur, pressing as much excess out as you can, and set aside.  Briefly sauté the garlic in 1 Tbsp of olive oil, just until golden.  Combine the cooked garlic, remaining olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Whisk this to make a dressing.   Soak the garbanzo beans in the dressing for about 10 minutes and then pour the mixture over the bulgur.  Toss in the mint and parsley just before serving.  Add more salt and pepper, to taste.

I’m eating some of the leftovers right now!

-Amanda