Bulgar Wheat with Pomegranate, Feta, Spinach and Leeks

This is a querky recipe I decided to make for lunch the other day! It was created with the idea of throwing everything you like together and hoping it comes out tasting good- and my oh my was it good! Just try it for yourself! And here's why it's good for ya....

Pomegranate is one of my favourite slightly exotic fruits, giving your meal scrummy little bursts of sweet flavour with an added subtle crunch! It is a famously been classified as a 'superfood', with it being full of B Vitamins, potassium and folic acid. These little pellets have anti-inflammatory properties which has been said to help protect you from harmful Free Radicals (those nasty molecules that are damaging to the body!) If you want to learn more about why you should try and include more super foods, fruit and veg into your diet, this is a pretty good read: www.healthchecksystems.com/antioxid

Bulgar Wheat is a fab little grain which again has so many benefits to its consumption. Much like other grains, it is high in dietary fibre, and contains amino acids that provide the body with protein; Bulgar Wheat contains about 6g of protein per 100g so is not considered a 'protein rich' food like other grains such as Quinoa or Lentils. Bulgar Wheat contains many B vitamins, in particular, Thiamin and Niacin (both of which are extremely important in the functioning of the nervous and digestive system), as well as plenty of minerals, but it is a notably great source for Manganese. So GOBBLE UP guys!

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 cup bulgar wheat

1 stock cube (I used chicken flavour)

1/2 pomegranate

50g Feta Cheese

4 large handfuls of baby spinach

2 leeks, washed and roughly chopped

2 tbsp linseeds

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (for garnish)

Rocket (for garnish)

Wedge of lemon (optional)

Directions:

In a bowl, add the bulgar wheat, crumble your stock cube over, and pour just boiled water over until its about 1/2 a cm on top of the bulgar wheat. Cover with a lid and set aside to steam for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan, on a medium heat, begin to sauté your leeks. As soon as these are turning soft, add in your linseeds and your 'couple of handfuls of spinach'. You decide how much green you want- but remember it does shrink down lots!

Once wilted, remove from the heat and set aside. 'De-seed'/'De-fruit' your pomegranate. 

Check your bulgar wheat is cooked. Depending on the variety it will absorb the liquid at different speeds. It should have absorbed all of the liquid and the little grains should be tender all the way through.  A little tip is if it hasn't yet absorbed all the liquid and it's still not completely cooked through, whack it in the microwave to re-heat the water and help it to absorb the last few drops!

In a large bowl, tip in your greens and linseeds, followed by your bulgar wheat, then your pomegranate. Crumble in half of your feta cheese. Mix all the ingredients together. Now is the time to do 'chef's tasters' and season it with anything you think it lacks! Everybody's taste buds differ!

Serve up between two plates, crumbling half the feta over the top, followed by some of the pumpkin seeds and then the rocket. If you're a fan of Oliv Oil, a little drizzle over the top will bring everything together- Bon Apetite!