Salad Pen y Bont

Makes 6 generous servings (serving a crowd?)

4 oz bulgur wheat (just over ½ cup)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 lb fresh spinach or other mixed greens
1 medium onion
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
1 clove garlic finely chopped
4 oz Brie
½ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
2 oz Cheddar, grated

Method

Soak bulgur in water enough to cover for an hour or until bulgur has doubled in size and absorbed most of the liquid. Drain and squeeze dry. Add nutmeg, celery. Set aside.

Trim stems from the spinach. Tear into bite-size shreds. Set aside. In a small bowl, chop the onion, and mix with ginger and garlic. Set aside. Slice the Brie into small chunks.

To assemble the salad, line a very large bowl with an ample layer of greens. Sprinkle the onions on top. Next, top with Brie slices, then bulgur. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up. Drizzle with the oil and lemon juice, top with the grated Cheddar. Serve forth.

Notes

While browsing through Gillie Davies, we were mesmerized by Elunid Lloyd's Pastai Pen y Bont (a baked salad so astonishing we feel impelled to include our simplification), and we wondered how it would taste served fresh. So we substituted an oil and lemon dressing for her cream sauce, Americanized the cheeses, and made a few cosmetic changes (such as eliminating those pesky currants) to the delight of our testers.

Elunid, chef at the Cnapan Hotel in Newport, Pembrokeshire has the luxury of including wild land- and sea-greens in the vegetarian dishes she serves. We had to settle for domestic greens. The cracked wheat, while not native to Welsh cookery, is common in other cultures: witness the variety of bulgur-based salads in Middle Eastern cooking. It adds substance to the salad and permits it to serve as a meal for vegetarian diners

While the salad tested quite well, our patrons were unimpressed. Or maybe just incurious, too busy gorging themselves on the Roast Dragon.

Suggestions

Croutons would make a nice topping.
First served: Beltane 1994
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Last modified: © April 1994