When it’s cold outside, we seek comfort food. Something usually hot, gooey, and unhealthy. In these dog days of summer, I find comfort in a cold plate of assorted fruits or a chilled salad. I love trying new salads, but in a pinch Tabbouleh is the go-to in our home. I absolutely love it. But when you can find a healthy dish that each member of the family devours, you know you’ve found gold.
I was first introduced to this dish while visiting a dear friend from college in her home state of Minnesota. Her mother is a fourth generation American of Lebanese descent. She had asked her mother to make all of us a Lebanese meal and without hesitation, her mother produced some of the most amazing food I have ever had. And we all know how healthy the Middle Eastern diet is, which made it that much more enjoyable.
I have since tried to recreate all of the dishes we had that night, but have failed each and every time with all but one. And to top it off, they are all so time consuming. But the dish that I was able to at least get close was the Tabbouleh; an amazingly tangy, hearty and tasty salad that I have yet to feed to someone that didn’t immediately fall in love.
If you make it the old-fashioned way, which I know is better, it will take forever. But with some tips and tricks I’ve borrowed from my friends mother, and even a few I’ve discovered on my own, it really has become one of the easiest dishes I make... and oh, so rewarding in every way!
But before you begin, you need to make one very important decision. The correct way to prepare and enjoy Tabbouleh is to use bulgur wheat or cracked wheat if you can’t find bulgur at your store. The other, slightly healthier option is to use Quinoa, which still makes a delicious dish, but just isn’t quite the same. The reason you need to decide which you will use in advance, is because if you go with the former, you need to add two hours onto your overall recipe time. I will address that in the recipe.
Tabbouleh
Ingredients
4 bunches of curly parsley (flat leaf parsley will not work), processed down and chopped
3 bunches of scallions, chopped on the bias
1 cup bulgur or Quinoa
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups finely chopped tomatoes (I’m a big fan of San Marzano tomatoes)
¼ cup lemon juice (juice from real lemons is always best)
1 tsp lemon pepper
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Recipe
1. Add the oil, tomatoes, lemon juice, lemon pepper, salt and pepper to a large bowl.
2. If using bulgur, add the bulgur to the mix in step 1 and let rest for at least two hours, but preferably overnight.
If using quinoa, just prepare according to the package instructions, let cool and then add to the bowl.
3. While the mixture is soaking, process the parsley by removing as much of the stems as possible, understanding that some will be left behind. Now, this is the proper way, but to speed things up, use a food processor to do most of the processing and chopping. You will still need to remove the bigger stems, but the rest will breakdown nicely.
4. Add all ingredients to the mixture in the large bowl, toss, and enjoy!
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