Tabbouleh

I, also, keep the tomatoes & cukes separate. Lasts much, much longer! And I always add Marie Sharp’s habanero hot sauce! Yum!!

Try a bit of Lebanese allspice in the tabouleh and serve on a leaf of crisp Romaine lettuce…mmmmm,

I love tabbouleh and the more parsley the better. For a gluten-free alternative to bulgar, I use rice and lentils – straight out of a recipe from Epicurious. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lentil-and-Rice-Salad-103673

I always squeeze in extra lemon and mint too.

Hi ELise,

The recipe look lovely!
I’m from Lebanon (Middle East) where originally this recipe comes from.
We make it with ‘fine’ bulgur and add more tomato and less bulgur.
We don’t soak the bulgur, we just dip it in the minced tomatoes to soak there slowly or sprinkle water on them coated completely. Also we add a couple of tbsp of Pomegranate Molasses which gives it a lovely taste, so if we add this, we usually skip the lemon juice because it can turn out a bit sour/acidic. We also add other condiments like dry mint, little pepper, and of course, salt.

Tabbouli is a summer staple at my house, along with your black bean quinoa salad recipe. I just boil hot water in the teapot and soak the bulgur in that. We add tomatoes and cucumber. Another add-in if tomatoes are in bad shape is a can of rinsed chick peas, also adds some protein for a complete meal.

P.S. I love your site!

I try to always have Olive oil on hand. One time I did not, I added a few drops of toasted sesame seed oil to the salad oil I used, and used Ume plum vinegar (omit salt if using this, as it is naturally very salty), and used sliced shitake mushrooms, green onion, shredded carrot,small bits of finely sliced colored bell peppers, sliced celery, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and a thinly sliced serrano pepper, and about 4 scrambeled eggs. Of course, I used the usual whole bunch of cilantro and served with slices of lemon and lime on the side, and topped with fresh sprouts (any kind will do, my family usually likes spicy sprouts). I then served along side a slice of grilled tofu that had been brushed with plum sauce prior to grilling. Even the meat eaters loved it!

I’ve been making tabbouleh since the late 70’s, early 80’s. My recipe differs a little from yours in that I do not boil the water/stock. I just cover the Bulgur to the depth of the first joint of the index finger and leave it sit for an hour. At this time I’ll squeeze any excess moisture.
I began substituting cilantro very early on. I’ve always grown it and around here it’s always available in the stores. It gives a less harsh flavour to the salad. I also finely dice a Serrano pepper complete (no coring or seeding,thank you very much), for a small kick in flavour. Also, if you don’t have a good grade of decent olive oil on hand, Zesty Italian Dressing works pretty well in a pinch. I prefer Wish Bone brand. As for lemon or lime, well I’ve always used what I had on hand, it’s good with either.

Love it, is it okay if this kind of recipe can be more hotter like putting lots of chili? I really love hot.

Sure, put in as much chili as you want. ~Elise

I often keep quinoa because I have a gluten free child. The great thing about it is my picky daughter will eat it, and she loves it better than rice. I often use only cilantro, since my local market does not carry fresh parsley. I also use fresh zuchinni, and yellow squash. when I use the green squash, sometimes my family thinks I snuck in some avocado, (and I have used avocado too). I never use mint, as no one likes mint here, but I use a mixture of available fresh onion types. Today, I am making it with all cilantro, fresh veges, and serving it with broiled fish. It is great as a side dish, as I usually pack it with fresh veges that are in season.

I just stick my parsley in a food processor and it does all the chopping for me. I actually put everything in the processor but the tomatoes. Yum.

Try making it with basil instead of the mint
YUM :)

I wonder if there’s a decent substitution for bulgur in order to make a GF tabbouleh of sorts. Quinoa seems a bit small to generate the right texture; buckwheat seems like it would be a bit too strong in flavor. Any thoughts?

I would use quinoa. It’s nutty, has a great texture. Lots of people use quinoa as a GF substitute in tabbouleh. ~Elise

I found a tabbouleh recipe about a year ago that I’ve been making since. The secret ingredient is a pinch of cinnamon. I often feel overpowered by tabbouleh because it’s too sour. The addition of cinnamon rounds out the flavors and I think it’s delicious. I wonder if the cinnamon addition is region-specific, and if so, where it originated.

Great idea to add a dash of cinnamon, thanks! ~Elise

mmmm….I LOVE tabbouleh. I make mine pretty much the same way, except I chop the tomatoes and cucumbers and keep them separate from the bulgur mixture, allowing each person to add as little or as much as they want to their plate.
It’s a little trick my mother taught me that allows the tabbouleh to keep for much longer than when you mix the tomatoes in. We like to make a big batch and pick at it all week. :)

I also add finely chopped red onion; it adds a nice zip.

Yay! One of my favorite dishes that I always order from the numerous Mediterranean restaurants in our town. I’ve found that the seasonings and parsley/tomato/bulgur ratios can vary WIDELY. Just an FYI that for this dish in particular, the quantities of many of the ingredients can be tweaked to your personal preference.