Tangy Summer Vegetable Salad with Bulgur

1. Preheat Grill

Preheat your grill to high heat, whether you're using charcoal or gas.

2. Prepare Vinaigrette

In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, minced shallot, and extra-virgin olive oil until well combined. Stir in the minced parsley, and season with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

3. Season Chickpeas

In a large bowl, combine the rinsed and drained chickpeas with half of the vinaigrette. Mix well and set aside, adjusting the seasoning if needed.

4. Cook Bulgur

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt, then stir in the bulgur wheat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let it simmer for about 12–15 minutes until the bulgur has absorbed the water. Remove from heat and let it stand, covered, for another 5 minutes.

5. Grill Vegetables

While the bulgur cooks, brush the quartered red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, eggplant slices, and zucchini slices with olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper. Place them on the preheated grill and cook for about 7 minutes on each side until they are tender and have nice grill marks.

6. Cut Grilled Vegetables

Once done, transfer the grilled vegetables to a cutting board and cut them crosswise into thirds, then slice lengthwise.

7. Combine Vegetables and Chickpeas

Add the grilled vegetables to the bowl with the chickpeas and drizzle with more of the vinaigrette to taste. Toss everything together to coat the vegetables and chickpeas evenly.

8. Assemble Salad

Fluff the cooked bulgur with a fork and spread it in a large shallow serving bowl. Top with the grilled vegetable and chickpea mixture. Sprinkle the crumbled blue cheese over the top, and garnish with coarsely chopped walnuts and torn parsley leaves. Serve hot or at room temperature.