Long-time CSA member Sondralee sent in this lovely tabbouleh. Thanks, Sondralee!
Tabbouleh, or tabouli, is a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern salad. Traditionally, this dish has more veggies than bulgur wheat, but it depends on your tastes and what you have on hand. So I’ll leave the vegetable quantities open below. It’s also encouraged to make parsley the star of the salad, turning it mostly green.
Note: If you’re looking for bulgur wheat locally, we find it at Core Goods in Oil City.
INGREDIENTS
~ ½ cup bulgur wheat
~ Cucumber, diced
~ Tomato, diced
~ A big bunch of parsley, chopped
~ Just a few mint leaves, minced
~ Onion (green onions or yellow or red), diced, to taste. Onions can have a strong taste, so you may want to just add a small amount.
~ Garlic cloves, minced, to taste
~ Olive oil, to taste
~ Salt, to taste
~ Fresh lemon juice, to taste (I use the juice of 1 whole lemon.)
DIRECTIONS
1.) Cook bulgur until tender (see directions below). Drain any excess water, if necessary. Set aside to cool.
2.) At the same time, combine all veggies and herbs. Salt to taste.
3.) Combine veggies and herbs with bulgur.
4.) Stir in olive oil, to taste. Add lemon juice, also to taste. Sprinkle more salt, if necessary.
5.) Tabbouleh is best chilled. It will keep in the fridge, covered, for up to four days.
HOW TO COOK BULGUR WHEAT
For every 1 cup of bulgur, you need 1 1/2 cups of water. Combine bulgur and water with just a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer. Then, cover and cook over low heat until tender (about 5 minutes). It’ll have a slightly chewy texture. Remove from heat and let stand for about 5 minutes. This makes about 2 1/2 cups cooked bulgur.
Note: Fine-grain bulgur is soaked rather than cooked.
~ Stella
Here’s mine. I’ll admit, I was hesitant to “over parsley,” but after adding in a large bunch it’s clear that an even bigger bunch would have been delicious. I won’t be afraid to turn it green next time. I’ll also switch up my ratio of bulgur wheat to veggies next time, and use more veggies. You’re also *coughs* supposed to finely chop the veggies… so, uh, do as I say, not as I do???? Someday, I’ll be the kind of person who finely chops things, I swear.