Tabouleh

Tabouleh is a middle eastern salad of many names. It can be spelled tabbouleh, tabouleh, tabouli, and I'm sure others I didn't even come across. Originating from Lebanon, this is a fresh, crisp salad made of wheat and vegetables. Many Mediterranean dishes have grown in popularity with the advent of new, quick service restaurants (Zoe's Kitchen Little Greek, etc). It's been a treat for me, as for many years Greek restaurants were few and far between.

The salad reminds me somewhat of pasta salad, to give a reference for anyone who hasn't tried it, but with a different texture. With a history spanning from the Middle Ages, tabouleh is a common side dish in Lebanon.

I couldn't find bulgur near me, so I put this off for a while. It kept floating around my "To make" list, but eventually I decided it was time. Time to mix together some fresh ingredients and enjoy a salad I don't have often. 

Aside from the bulgur, which I'm sure many international markets carry, the ingredients were fairly simple. Fresh parsley mint, red onion, and roma tomatoes, and a sauce made of lemon juice and olive oil.

I chopped the tomato, onion, parsley, and mint, then mixed it all together with some garlic and lemon juice. The garlic isn't common, but I use garlic like I use salt. I think it adds a little extra to many a recipe. I mixed the vegetables, herbs, lemon juice and olive oil together and let it marinate for an hour.

To make the bulgur, I poured boiling water over a cup of the wheat and let it sit, covered, for 45 minutes. Then, I let it cool in the fridge before combining it with the vegetable mixture.

And that was that. Stir some stuff together, let it chill out, then serve.

I was really happy with this; buying it premade can get expensive, given it is a bit of a specialty. But let's be real: red onion has a great flavor in cold salads and on gyros, and it was a superstar here. 

The bulgur reminded me a bit of wheat germ, which I used many moons ago when I made koliva. Though that is more of a sweet dish, its texture was similar.

It was just so fresh! The crispness of the onion and fresh tomato combined with the saltiness of the feta make for a great savory flavor. It's a great side, and I brought this to a friend's house where they were serving bbq. Everyone was happy to grab some tabouleh, and raved about how good it was. I can't really take credit for this dish, but I can enjoy the fact I now know how, and can have it whenever I want.

There are definitely some variants out there, including some with diced cucumber (yum!), and some with less bulgur. So essentially, you can tweak the ingredients in many ways to adjust to your preference. I mean, I do that in everything I make but can make a big difference in a recipe like this. Show off at your next get together and bring a fancy salad!

Tabouleh Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup bulgur wheat

1 1/2 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 teaspoon garlic (optional)

3-4 tablespoons red onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon mint leaves fresh, finely chopped

2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions:

In a glass bowl place lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, parsley, tomatoes, onion, mint and feta. Stir, then cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Boil 1 1/2 cups water. In a separate bowl, add the bulgur wheat, then pour the boiling water over it. Cover, then let sit for 45 minutes. Refrigerate until cool. Drain excess water, then stir in lemon and vegetables mixture. Serve.

adapted from tabouleh