Toasted-Bulgur Salad with Smoked Trout, Radishes, and Green Apple

Ingredients

• For the salad:
• 3 lemons, cut into suprèmes
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups water, divided
• 1 cup bulgur wheat
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 8 ounces smoked trout, skin and bones removed, flaked into 1-inch chunks
• 4 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple, halved, cored, and thinly sliced, slices cut in half crosswise
• 1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• For the dressing:
• 2 tablespoons fresh juice from 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon reserved lemon soaking syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. For the Salad: Pull the lemon segments apart with your fingers into rough 1/2-inch bits, then put them in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with 1/2 cup water. Set it over high heat until it boils, then lower to a simmer and stir until the sugar disappears into the water. Pour the hot syrup onto the lemon and let it sit for 45 minutes.
2. While the lemon rests, add the bulgur to a medium skillet and toast it over moderately high heat, stirring often, until it smells warm and nutty, about 3 minutes. Move the bulgur to a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the remaining 1 1/4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil. Pour that boiling water over the bulgur, cover the bowl, and leave it alone for 20 minutes. Remove the cover, fluff the grains with a fork, and let them come down to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cooled bulgur with the trout, radish, onion, apple, and parsley. Strain the lemon, keeping 1 tablespoon of the soaking syrup for the dressing and saving the remaining syrup for another use. Add the drained lemon to the bowl and toss everything gently.
4. For the Dressing: Whisk the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon reserved syrup, and lemon zest together in a medium bowl. Add the olive oil in a thin, steady stream while you keep whisking. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the dressing to the salad and fold it through gently. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve it right away, or cover and refrigerate it overnight, or for up to 2 days. Serve cold or at room temperature.