My girlfriend in Plymouth first made this dish and I thought it was delicious and copied her recipe down straight away. This form of tabbouleh is red in colour thanks to the tomato puree, and is considered the Turkish form of tabbouleh, although this recipe doesn't use the pepper paste you often find in recipes. The freshness of herbs is also core to the dish, and the toasted walnuts give an extra tasty crunch. Perfect either as a starter or a side dish to grilled meats, for example. And feels very healthy! It can also keep well in the fridge for several days.

Makes: 4-6 servings

Method:

1. Place bulghur wheat in large bowl, pour over 200ml of boiling water, stir and cover and leave for 20 minutes. It should have absorbed all the water and have a bit of bite
2. Mix the lemon juice, tomato puree, dried chili, spices listed in the dressing list above and whisk into the oil. Pour this dressing into the bulghur wheat and stir well. Leave to cool completely
3. Put the walnuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven at 180.c for 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Leave to cool and chop roughly
4. Meanwhile, core, deseed tomatoes and dice. Slice spring onions finely and dice peppers.
5. Combine the bulghur with the tomatoes, peppers, spring onions, toasted walnuts and chopped herbs, mix well. Leave to stand for 15 minutes for the flavours to emerge and serve with pitta bread, lettuce leaves, or alongside a meat dish.