tabbouleh

    tabbouleh: a lebanese classic

    Ayshim,

    Any plans for this year’s holiday season? I have my sister-in-law who will be coming over for Xmas this year and I have been working on our Mediterranean feast. We all agreed on a non-traditional Xmas dinner as that style of food is not suitable for Australian climate. We are thinking more along the line of tapas, antipasti, mezze and some Spanish tortilla or frittata or a Yotam Ottolenghi style galette. And salads. Definitely salads. The menu is still in progress.

    tabbouleh

    I was going through my recipe archive the other day and decided to add this Tabbouleh Salad to the mix. Even though it is more Middle Eastern rather than Mediterranean. Actually, there is a Turkish version of this salad and it is pretty much what most people serve at a tea party. It’s called kısır. The difference is pretty much in the amount of bulghur being used. Basically, it’s more bulghur, less herbs. In a Lebanese version, it’s the opposite. Turkish one looks like the photo below.

    tabbouleh

    What is a Tabbouleh Salad, you may ask? Well, Tabbouleh Salad is a Lebanese dish featuring bulghur (also known as cracked wheat, bulgur or bulgar). It is an ingredient that has been used in Turkish and Middle Eastern foods for thousands of years. Where I come from, bulghur is one of the staples. We make pilaf with coarse variety and salads or koftas with the fine variety. Fine variety is quite binding. So, you can even use it instead of breadcrumbs.

    Recipe Notes:

    • The type of bulghur which is used in this recipe is the fine variety and it doesn’t need to be cooked.
    • Fresh mint is an essential part of this salad: do not replace it with dried mint as the taste will not be the same.
    • Tabbouleh Salad can be made in advance and refrigerated for 24 hours before serving.
    • Bulghur is made of wheat, so Tabbouleh Salad is not gluten free however you could easily substitute bulghur with quinoa which is a powerhouse when it comes to protein.
    • The recipe below serves 4.
    tabbouleh: a lebanese classic
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    tabbouleh: a lebanese classic

    Recipe by AyshimCourse: SaladsCuisine: LebaneseDifficulty: Easy
    Servings

    4

    servings
    Prep time

    20

    minutes
    Total time

    20

    minutes

    Tabbouleh Salad is a Lebanese dish featuring bulghur (also known as cracked wheat, bulgur or bulgar). It is an ingredient that has been used in Turkish and Middle Eastern foods for thousands of years.

    Ingredients

    • 225g/8oz cracked wheat (fine)

    • 50 g /8oz parsley, finely chopped

    • 8 spring onions, finely chopped

    • 4 tbsp lemon juice

    • 1 tsp salt, plus more if needed

    • 450g/16oz tomatoes

    • 40g/1 ½ oz mint leaves, finely chopped

    • ½ cucumber, very finely chopped

    • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

    • freshly ground black pepper

    • to garnish:

    • lettuce

    • lemon wedges

    • mint

    Directions

    • Put the cracked wheat in a bowl and cover with plenty of cold water. Leave to stand for 20-25 minutes, until the grains have softened.
    • Tip into a sieve lined with a tea towel and squeeze to extract as much water as possible.
    • Tip the wheat into a large bowl and stir in the parsley, spring onions, lemon juice and salt untiI well mixed.
    • Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and leave for 1 minute, then peel off the skins. Chop the flesh finely and add to the wheat mixture with the mint, cucumber and oil and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
    • Line a serving plate with lettuce and spoon on the tabbouleh. Garnish with lemon wedges and mint.
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