Bulgur salad with cherries and feta

The toothsome texture and nutty flavor of bulgur make it a wonderful canvas for an array of ingredients. It can be treated as a grain side dish, cooked as a custard-like dessert similar to rice pudding, or tossed with a bright vinaigrette for a hearty salad like this one. Sweet cherries and salty feta balance beautifully in this easy summer side. No cherry pitter? Push a chopstick through the stem end of each fruit and the pit will pop out on the other side. For a tasty twist, substitute half the parsley with fresh mint leaves. Make the grain salad up to several hours in advance and let the flavors come together in the refrigerator. Add the feta just before you are ready to serve.