Tabouli (Lebanese Bulghur, Parsley, and Mint Salad)
"Tabouli is a Lebanese salad and is often served as part of a meza appetizer assortment, as well as on its own. This is my cousin's recipe, and according to her, you NEVER put garlic in tabouli, and there is no place in it for celery, cucumber, or any of the myriad of other ingredients with which some people like to adulterate it "to make it different". I agree with her wholeheartedly. This doesn't need anything else; just season it well with the salt, pepper, lemon, and olive oil."
photo by grim17
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
- 1 cup medium Bulgar wheat (#2)
- 2 -3 bunches parsley, stemmed and chopped, depending on size
- 1 -2 bunch fresh mint leaves, finely chopped, depending on size, more to taste
- 2 bunches green onions, chopped
- 4 -5 ripe firm tomatoes, partially seeded and chopped
- 3 -5 lemons, juice of, to taste
- 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil, to taste
- salt & fresh ground pepper
directions
- This recipe is a breeze if you have a food processor, a little more work if you don't.
- If using a processor, chop parsley and mint together, using a pulsing action, to ensure that you don't end up pureeing them, and remove to a bowl.
- Repeat with green onions, and add it bowl.
- Chop tomatoes, preferably by hand, into about 1/4" dice, and add to bowl.
- If you are making this for company, you might want to chop everything by hand.
- It makes a much prettier dish than when made in the processor, but I never bother when it is for personal consumption; I just take a little care when using the processor.
- Wash bulghur thoroughly, drain, and soak in fresh hot water for about 1 hour.
- Drain and squeeze as dry as possible, and combine with vegetables.
- Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and toss thoroughly.
- You can be quite generous with the pepper.
- Refrigerate for about an hour, taste, and adjust salt and pepper.
- In addition to serving a a salad or part of a meza appetizer assortment, it is also good as dressing on a falafel or lamb sandwich in pita bread.
Questions & Replies
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Reviews
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Tabouli should never be prepared using a food processor; it simply deauthenticates the consistency and even the flavor. Additionally, adding cucumber is not "adulterating" the recipe, but rather reflects the traditional version of this food from other areas of the M.E. Syrians from the Levant area are known for adding cucumber. And, in case you have never tried Tabouli with cucumber, you are missing out. I will, however, agree with the author of this recipe that garlic is not traditionally used in making Tabouli and neither is using celery. -
I love this recipe. I have used it for years and forgot to review it. I grow mint, parsley, and green onions on my windowsill year around and every 2-3 weeks harvest to make this recipe. It's lovely in summer and a nice boost of nutrients and a hint of hope to warmer days during the long winters. Thank you!
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Very nice recipe - keeper. Agree hand chopping gives prettier result but food processor works fine when pulsed - increases the green vegetal flavors though not as pretty. Thanks for posting Toby. -
I made this for a dinner party and everyone loved it. One friend literally said "I think I could live on this" and another friend who was travelled extensively in the middle east said this recipe was more authentic than most found in US restaurants. <br/>I did cut back to only 1 tomato (because my bowl was full and I was too lazy to transfer into a new bowl at that point) and I completely forgot about the oil.
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Delish! I subbed red onions for the green onions, and used only half the bulgar... actually I didn't have any bulgar on hand so I used couscous, 1/2 cup. Parsley fresh from the garden! Lemony and fresh!
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Tweaks
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Delish! I subbed red onions for the green onions, and used only half the bulgar... actually I didn't have any bulgar on hand so I used couscous, 1/2 cup. Parsley fresh from the garden! Lemony and fresh!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Toby Jermain
Houston, TX
I WAS retired oilfield trash since 1999, who has lived in Houston TX for the last 25 years, though I'm originally from California. I'm Texan by choice, not by chance! I am now working in Algeria 6 months a year, so I guess that gives new meaning to the term SEMI-retired. I grew up in restaurants and worked in them for 13 years while getting through high school and college, working as everything from dishwasher to chef, including just about everything in between. At odd intervals I also waited tables and tended bar, which gave me lots of incentive to stay in school and get my engineering degree.
During the 33 years since, I have only cooked for pleasure, and it HAS given me a great deal of pleasure. It's been my passion. I love to cook, actually more than I love to eat. I read cookbooks like most people read novels.
My wife and I both enjoy cooking, though she isn't quite as adventurous as I am. I keep pushing her in that direction, and she's slowly getting there.
We rarely go out to eat, because there are very few restaurants that can serve food as good as we can make at home. When we do go out, it's normally because we are having an emergency junk-food attack.
My pet food peeves are (I won't get into other areas): are people who post recipes that they have obviously NEVER fixed; obvious because the recipe can't be made because of bad instructions, or that are obvious because it tastes horrible. I also detest people who don't indicate that a recipe is untried, even when it is a good recipe. Caveat emptor!
