Yesterday I sent my husband to the supermarket to buy vegetables and in the list I wrote two bunches of fresh coriander along with the other vegetables. But he accidentally brought parsley instead of coriander. He said both looked similar to him. Well, I don’t blame him as he’s not really used to buying vegetables and stuff by himself. It’s always me who does all the purchasing and sends him to the front only at the cash counter :’) So, I thought of making a good use of the parsley that he brought. It was fresh and smelt really good. When I thought of preparing something with parsley, the first thing that struck me was Tabbouleh.
I love all the vegetarian dishes from the Lebanese cuisine and the tabbouleh salad is a must on my platter whenever I eat Lebanese meze. Today, when I prepared this tabbouleh salad and served it for dinner along with some hummus and warm pita bread by the side, my family enjoyed it so much that it reminded us of many beautiful moments we had during our trips to Dubai. My family finished the entire salad in minutes!. And my husband took all the credit and said that it tastes amazing because he brought fresh and really nice coriander, sorry, ‘parsley’. Hahaha :’)
Tabbouleh is a popular Middle Eastern salad that can also be had as a main dish with Hummus and Pita bread by it’s side! It’s incredibly easy to make and a super refreshing salad with its fresh, herby goodness. Parsley being the key ingredient of this salad, it is also made in different varieties by improvising it as per the choices of some people. Bulgur or cracked wheat is the other main ingredient in this salad that is soaked and scattered to add a grainy texture and crunchiness to it, but people also use quinoa as a substitute to the former two to make this salad gluten-free. Tomatoes, onions (optional), cucumbers (optional), mint leaves, scallions are the other vegetables that go into this salad. There is no measured quantity or size on the take of vegetables and thus you can play around the quantity depending as per your liking. Lemon juice and spices that are added to this salad elevate the flavors in it. In some places, people use more of parsley and vegetables, keeping bulgur to the minimum where as in other places they add more of bulgur and less greens in their tabbouleh. And no matter how they make it, it’s certainly a very popular mezze salad in the Middle East. This salad is perfect as a very light and refreshing meal.
Parsley contains vitamin K, C and A. It also keeps the immune system strong. It has also been evaluated for its effectiveness in the treatment and prevention of diabetes. It helps flush out excess fluid from the body, thus supporting kidney function. Now it makes sense to add this medicinal herb into our daily cooking, doesn’t it?
You can also check my other recipe Falafel from the Lebanese/Middle Eastern cuisine.
Check out the recipes of other appetizers, salads, main courses, chutneys & pickles , quick meals and desserts on my blog!
Tabbouleh Salad Recipe:
Place bulgur in a bowl and add hot boiling water to it. Soak it for at least half an hour in order for the bulgur to fluff well. After the bulgur is soft and chewy, drain the excess water if any. Season with freshly ground black pepper, all spice mix, garlic powder (optional), dry parsley (optional) and salt to taste. You can also use cumin powder if you don’t have all spice mix handy. Leave it for some time for the flavors to settle in. While the bulgur is resting, you can start cutting your vegetables.
Wash and drain all the water from the fresh green vegetables. It’s very important to drain all the water to not make the salad mushy. You can keep them in paper towels to remove the moisture from them. Chop the vegetables in desired size. As I mentioned above, there is no specific size to cut the vegetables for this salad, as it varies differently in different regions. Some keep the parsley and mint chopped finely, cut tomatoes and cucumbers into large cubes; while some keep all the vegetables finely chopped. I prefer all of them chopped finely. I used parsley, mint, scallions (green onions), tomatoes and onions for my tabbouleh salad. Again, for tomatoes you can peel them, or use it with the peel as I did. But it’s preferred to remove the seeds and pulp from the tomatoes. Transfer all the chopped vegetables into a large bowl.
Add some olive oil and lemon juice to the chopped vegetables.
Add the soaked bulgur to the vegetable bowl and gently stir to coat the bulgur and spices evenly into the vegetables. Toss everything well, check the taste and adjust salt and lemon juice as required. You can serve it immediately or keep it in the refrigerator to serve it chilled. You can also prepare it a day ahead to consume it on the next day. In that case, add the lemon juice and olive oil just before you serve.
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I served it with some hummus that I prepared two days ago and stored in the refrigerator. To prepare hummus, soak the chick peas for at least 6-8 hours or over night and boil them in the pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles or till they are properly cooked. Grind them into a smooth paste or purée by adding some salt, olive oil, garlic (optional), lemon juice and Tahini sauce. Add water or chickpea stock as needed, to the grinder while blending. The more you add the lemon juice, the more your hummus tastes better. Transfer it into a serving bowl and drizzle some olive oil and paprika (optional) or cumin powder on top. You can also have them as lettuce wraps like I did, to keep them low in carbs. Enjoy!
Click here for the recipes of other salads on my blog!
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- 1/2 cup bulgur
- 1-2 bunches of parsley washed, dried and finely chopped
- 1/2 a bunch of mint leaves washed, dried and finely chopped (take half the amount of parsley)
- 2 scallions finely chopped
- 2 medium sized tomatoes peeled (optional), deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 medium sized onion finely chopped (optional)
- 1 small cucumber finely chopped (optional)
- 1 lemon or 2 tbsp of lime juice
- 3-4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp of ground all spice mix (lebanese spice mix) or cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp of garlic powder (optional)
- salt to taste
Ingredients
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- Soak the bulgur in hot boiling water for about half an hour or till it becomes soft and fluffy.
- Drain the excess water if any, and add garlic powder (optional), ground black pepper, all spice mix, dry parsley (optional).
- Wash all the vegetables and drain. It's important to drain them well to not to make the salad mushy.
- Chop all the vegetables finely.
- Combine all the chopped vegetables into a large bowl and add some olive oil and lemon juice.
- Transfer the soaked bulgur to the vegetable bowl and gently stir.
- Toss everything together, taste, and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Serve it immediately or store in the refrigerator to serve it chilled.
- Eat it as a salad or as a main dish with some hummus and warm pita bread by side.
- Enjoy 🙂
