How to make cherry tomatoes with corn and bulgur wheat salad

Stretch out summer with a salad of late season tomatoes.

Pair sweet cherry tomatoes with corn – fresh is great but tinned is fine as well – and bulgur wheat for a quick salad.

Bulgur wheat is ideal if you’re time pressed – simply cover with boiling water and it’s ready to eat in 5 or 10 minutes.

Throw in lots of chopped herbs – chives and parsley are good companions but coriander and basil would be lovely too – with some crunchy nuts.

Toast the nuts first until they’re golden brown, let them cool then coarsely chop.

This dish works well as a side salad or you could top it with a piece of fish or chicken as a main meal salad.

For vegetarians, add some tinned beans and crumbled feta instead.

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Serves 4-6 as a side

100g medium-coarse bulgur wheat
150g cherry tomatoes
100g cooked sweetcorn kernels
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 tsp juice
Small handful of chives, about 3 Tbsp chopped
Small handful of parsley, about 2 Tbsp leaves chopped
½ tsp mild chilli pepper such as Aleppo pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
30g hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Place the bulgur wheat in a bowl and cover by several centimetres with boiling water.

Cover the bowl with a plate and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes until the bulgur is tender but still al dente. Drain and set aside.

Chop the tomatoes into quarters (or halves if very small). Place in a bowl with the corn, lemon zest, lemon juice, chives, parsley, chilli pepper, oil and salt.

Add the bulgur wheat and stir to combine. Taste and and add more salt, chilli pepper or lemon juice, if needed. Place in a serving bowl and top with the nuts.

@juliapleonard