Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a popular salad, originally from Arab cuisine. It is now often served at Mediterranean restaurants as part of a mezze. Traditionally made with bulgur wheat, tabbouleh nowadays is also made with quinoa or even couscous. Today we're going old school and sticking with the traditional salad, tossed with a light dressing of lemon juice and olive oil.

Tabbouleh

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Cooking time: 4 hours 45 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 cup bulgur

3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped

3 green onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup mint leaves

2 tsp salt

1/2 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Place cracked wheat in bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes; drain and squeeze out excess water.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the wheat, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, parsley, mint, salt lemon juice and olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Toss again prior to serving.

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving: 202.9 calories, 14.0g fat (1.9g saturated, 1.6g polyunsaturated, 9.9g monounsaturated), 18.4g carbohydrates, 4.6g fiber, 3.3g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

There are two ways to cook bulgur. The first is to do as the recipe says: cover the bulgur with boiling water and let it soak. I did a ratio of 1 cup bulgur to 1 cup water because double the amount of water was too much. The second method is to cook on the stovetop. If you choose to cook the bulgur over the stove, use a ratio of 1 cup bulgur to 2 cups water. Heat the water over high until it reaches a boil. Add the bulgur and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat, shock in cold water and drain.

Although the recipe said to squeeze out the excess water, I found this was unnecessary and simply drained the bulgur. 

When combining the bulgur with the remaining ingredients, I used only 1/2 cup of olive oil instead of the 2/3 cup. I also added more salt and a little black pepper. 

This tabbouleh was served alongside a kofte pita sandwich. It was refreshingly light and simple, pairing well with the Turkish meatballs. This salad can also be used as a filling for a wrap. The simple dressing allows the other ingredients to shine through such as the mint and tomatoes. Perfect for a summer picnic or barbecue!