Sides · By Sharon
Tabbouleh
We first began cooking Middle-Eastern dishes many years ago, prior to Cam and Joc being born, when we became friends, during a trip to Mexico in the late 1980s, with Marvin and Catherine Stanowich from Prince Albert. They had been in the Middle East for several years and shared many recipes from there. It was a real eye-opener for us, because at that time you couldn't find things like hummus, baba ganoush, prepared falafil (falafel) or a mix, pita bread, or prepared tabbouleh in our stores. This tabbouleh recipe, the hummus, and the falafil (made from scratch) immediately became summer favorites of ours. Bulgur wheat is a middle-eastern constant, and is loaded with nutrition, including significant protein. Unlike quinoa, it's not a complete protein (not enough of all 9 essential amino acids), but it's a solid source. If you are looking to use tabbouleh as a main, vegetarians sometimes do, then it's easy to substitute bulgur wheat with quinoa. The recipe remains the same except for the need to cook the quinoa ahead of time, which means you don't need to soak it for 30 minutes (unlike the partially cooked bulgur wheat). Tabbouleh evokes summer and sun for us, its bright colors and flavors so alive!
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup fine-ground bulgur wheat (bulgur wheat is parboiled and so needs no cooking, just the soaking in hot water suggested below; a substitute could be an equal amount of already cooked quinoa)
- 1 cup hot water (if you have #1 fine-grind bulgur, you can get away with room temperature water for the soaking, but not so with anything coarser, which may be all you can find — the designations go up to #4, which is very coarse)
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice (need about 3 large lemons)
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (sometimes called Italian parsley; you can use curly parsley)
- ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
- ¾ cup finely diced red or white onion
- 3 tsp minced fresh garlic (4 or 5 big cloves)
- 1 tsp allspice, ground
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 20 grape or cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters (about 1 cm dice)
- 1 large English cucumber (or 4 mini-English cucumbers), seeded and cut into 1 cm dice
Method
- 1
Combine the fine bulgur, water, lemon juice, and ⅓ cup of the olive oil in a large bowl. Mix well, and set aside for 30 minutes at room temperature. After 30 minutes fluff the mixture with a fork to combine.
- 2
Add the parsley, mint, red onion, garlic, allspice, pepper, salt and remaining ⅓ cup olive oil. Toss well with a fork.
- 3
Add the quartered tomatoes, and diced cucumber, and toss again.
- 4
Allow to stand for at least 30 minutes to combine the flavors.
A note from Sharon
Drink/wine pairing: bright white like a Sauv Blanc.
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