Roasted Shallot Salad with Bulgar Wheat, Aubergine, Raisins & a Chilli and Tomato Dressing

Ingredients

• 12 shallots, peeled
• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 large aubergine, cut into 5cm chunks
• 200g (1 cup) Bulgur wheat rinsed in cold water
• 3 tbsp raisins
• 500ml (2 cups) water
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• A good pinch of ground ginger
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 red chilli, seeded and finely diced
• 1 large vine tomato, seeded and finely chopped
• A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
• A handful of coriander, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon

For the tomato dressing:

• 2 vine tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
• ½ red chilli, seeded and finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 in (2 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 10 tbsp rapeseed oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6).
2. Place the shallots in roasting tin and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the rapeseed oil. Season well. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
3. Then add the aubergine to the shallots and drizzle with 2 tablespoon of oil and return to the oven stirring occasionally. Roast for a further 15 minutes or until the aubergine and shallots are tender.
4. Meanwhile prepare the bulgur wheat. Place it with the raisins in a saucepan, add the water, cumin, coriander, and ginger. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, cover with a tight fitting lid, and cook very gently for 10 minutes or until the water has absorbed.
5.  Remove from the heat and place in a mixing bowl, allow to cool slightly and add all of the remaining ingredients. Take the shallot and aubergine out of the oven and add when cooled slightly to the salad.
6. For the dressing, place all the ingredients except the oil in to a food processor and blitz to form a smooth purée, then add the oil slowly to the purée till blended.
7. Serve with the salad.

Taken from March 2017 (Issue 24) Vegan Life Magazine

Recipes and images from : UKShallot.com