Rukmini says: “This is a beautiful dish. Salty halloumi, pomegranate, spiced almonds, buttery avo and asparagus – I could eat it every day. If you have jarred rather than tinned chickpeas, by all means use those instead, but a quick stint in the marinade will work wonders even with ordinary tinned chickpeas.”

Serves: 4
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes

Ingredients

300g bulgur wheat
1 x 700g jar chickpeas (or 2 x 400g tins chickpeas), drained and rinsed
600ml boiling vegetable stock
125g asparagus, sliced diagonally, woody ends trimmed

For the spiced almonds:

100g flaked almonds
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Good pinch sea salt flakes

For the dressing:

15g fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
15g fresh basil or parsley leaves (or a mixture of the two), finely chopped
200g pomegranate seeds (from 1 pomegranate)
60ml extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zest and juice
Couple of pinches sea salt flakes

To serve:

225g halloumi, sliced
2–3 avocados, sliced
Lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Tip the bulgur wheat into a large roasting tin, then scatter over the chickpeas. Pour over the stock, top with the asparagus, then transfer to the oven to bake for 15 minutes.

In a small, shallow baking tray, mix together the almonds, oil, smoked paprika, brown sugar and sea salt flakes, then pop the tray alongside or on another shelf of the oven for the last 10 minutes. While the tins are in the oven, mix the chopped herbs with the pomegranate seeds, olive oil, lemon zest and juice and sea salt flakes to make the dressing.

Heat a griddle pan to medium-high heat and place the halloumi slices on it. Griddle for 1–2 minutes per side until stripey, then remove to a plate. Fluff the bulgur wheat through with a spoon and leave to cool for 5 minutes before stirring through the dressing. Taste and adjust the salt as needed, then serve hot, topped with the avocado, halloumi, spiced almonds and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Make it GF: Omit the bulgur wheat and stock, roast off the asparagus and chickpeas by themselves in olive oil and cook quinoa in your preferred way before dressing with all the other ingredients.

The Green Cookbook: 3 simple vegetarian recipes that are made for summer weeknights