First of all, I am in no way suggesting that you do not do a turkey, stuffing, or any of the other staples your family or friends have come to expect. That is a lesson taught in Thanksgiving 101. You may jeopardize your membership in the family with such an atrocity or at the very least, have your cooking contribution privileges revoked forever.
But when it comes to salads, you have a little more wiggle room. It is for this reason that I suggest you not only contribute a different salad, but try to introduce one that will be new to all your guests, a huge hit, and solidify your status as MVC (Most Valuable Chef).
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
¼ cup lemon juice (juice from real lemons is always best)
1 tsp lemon pepper
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Recipe
Add the oil, tomatoes, lemon juice, lemon pepper, salt and pepper to a large bowl.
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.
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.
Add all ingredients to the mixture in the large bowl, toss, and enjoy!