Finally some sunshine! After some very unusual early June rain, the sun decided to join us in earnest. With the warmer weather, cool salads seem like just the thing to make, though they’re generally tough to pair with wines. This Moroccan salad is a more wine friendly riff on the classic Middle Eastern Tabouli, and it actually works with Chardonnay. I’ve subtituted milder oranges for the usual lemon, switched out raw onion for gentle chives, and made a dressing with ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend that builds a bridge to the oak in the Chardonnay. Creamy feta and toasted almonds add broad mouthfeel and match the Chardonnay’s creamy mouthfeel and toasty oak.

I demoed and served this salad for over 100 people on Monday, and it’s a great dish for a party. The recipe below serves 12-15 but can easily be halved for a smaller group. If you can’t find pomegranate molasses, you can reduce some pomegranate juice by half and add a squirt of lemon juice. Enjoy!

Summer Moroccan Salad

For the salad:

2 cups Bulgur (cracked wheat)

1 cucumber, peeled and cut into small dice

4 ounces feta, crumbled

I cup chopped oil cured olives

½ cup toasted sliced almonds

½ cup chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped mint

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1 orange, peel zested and flesh segmented and chopped

For the ras al hanout:

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or ¼ tsp cayenne and ¼ tsp paprika

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

For the vinaigrette:

½ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon ras al hanout

Salt and pepper to taste

Soak bulgur in 6 cups of cold water for two hours or until al dente. Squeeze out any excess moisture.

Whisk together spices for ras al hanout. Reserve 1 teaspoon for vinaigrette. Store the remainder in an airtight container. It will keep for at least one month.

Whisk together ingredients for vinaigrette. Set aside.

Combine bulgur, cucumber, feta, olives, almonds, herbs and orange zest and flesh. Add vinaigrette and toss to combine. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Serves 12-15.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 8th, 2011 at 8:29 am and is filed under Where's Chris. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.