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glass salad bowl filled with tabbouleh
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5 from 1 vote

Tabouli Salad (Tabouleh)

Tabouli salad is a lively combination of bulgur wheat, herbs, tomatoes, garlic, and shallots in a lightly spiced, lemony vinaigrette.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
Servings: 8
Author: Kevin

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a bowl, either soak the bulgar wheat in cold water for 60 minutes OR, pour boiling water over bulgar wheat and allow to soak for 20 minutes. Rinse in a sieve under cold running water until water runs clear. Drain/shake to remove excess water and transfer to a serving bowl.
  • Using a sharp knife, finely dice tomatoes. Add to the bowl along with their juices and toss to coat the bulgar wheat. Finely dice the shallot and mince garlic, and add to bowl.
  • Using half a bunch of parsley at a time, chop off half of the stems and discard or save for other use. Finely cut the parsley leaves and stems (See Note 4). Go over them once again to cut as finely as possible. Add to the bowl and repeat with remaining parsley.
  • Separate the mint leaves from their stems and discard stems. Stack the mint leaves, several at a time, and cut them as finely as the parsley. Add to the bowl and repeat with remaining mint leaves.
  • To the bowl add lemon juice, olive oil, allspice, salt, black pepper and optional sumac. Use large spoons to lightly toss and combine all ingredients.
    Taste for flavor, add seasoning if needed, then cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Stir before plating. Serve traditionally, at room temperature, or chilled if you prefer alongside some chips or pita.

Video

Notes

  1. Use any tomato if you prefer. I prefer Roma (also known as plum tomatoes) as they are firmer and easier to dice into very small pieces. Or, substitute pomegranate arils, which have a tart-sweet flavor.
  2. Substitute curly parsley if you can't find the Italian flat leaf variety. Just be sure it is a 3 to 1 ratio of parsley to mint.
  3. I oftentimes substitute red pepper flakes for the black pepper.
  4. I highly recommend using an herb snipper or sharp knife to cut the parsley and mint. Although easier to use, food processors and unsharpened manual food choppers tend to bruise the herbs, causing them to become mushy, wet and soggy.

Nutrition

Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 235mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1948IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg