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Tablouli Recipe


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I've seen tabouli recipes that are mostly parsley and some that are mostly wheat. We prefer mostly parsley. This recipe is from American Wholefoods Cuisine by Goldbeck I often leave out the scallions and mint.

 

Tabouli

1/4 cup cracked wheat (bulghur)

3/4 cup hot water

2 cups chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 tomato, diced

2 scallions, sliced thin

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

3 Tablespoons oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

black olives, sliced (optional)

 

Soak wheat in water for about 15 minutes to soften. Drain well, squeezing out all moisture.

 

Toss wheat, parsley, mint, cuke, tomato and scallion together in a dish. Dress with lemon juice, oil and salt...mix well. Garnish with olives if desired.

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Awesome, thanks! It's good to know that it's still tasty w/o the mint. I'm not a big mint fan. :D

 

I've seen tabouli recipes that are mostly parsley and some that are mostly wheat. We prefer mostly parsley. This recipe is from American Wholefoods Cuisine by Goldbeck I often leave out the scallions and mint.

 

Tabouli

1/4 cup cracked wheat (bulghur)

3/4 cup hot water

2 cups chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 tomato, diced

2 scallions, sliced thin

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

3 Tablespoons oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

black olives, sliced (optional)

 

Soak wheat in water for about 15 minutes to soften. Drain well, squeezing out all moisture.

 

Toss wheat, parsley, mint, cuke, tomato and scallion together in a dish. Dress with lemon juice, oil and salt...mix well. Garnish with olives if desired.

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Arabs from Lebanon-Syria-Palestine-Jordan think of Tabbouleh as a "parsley/herb salad with bulgar", rather than a "bulgar salad with parley and herbs." They use really tiny amounts of bulgar for texture, but it is a small percentage of the salad, not the mainstay (or even close).

 

They chop large amounts of cleaned flat-leafed (Italian) parsley. It is important to wash the parsley well in advance first, and then dry thoroughly. Trying to dice wet parsley makes a mess and ruins (absolutely destroys) the texture. When you cut, try to compress the parsley with your fingers just ahead of where you will cut. Then cut through with a sharp knive. Move forward slowly, keeping the mincing very fine. This is more trouble up front, but will yeild the right results.

 

The finely ground bulghar should be soaked in hot water a half-hour or so. Then drained and pressed in a colander and squeezed with forcefully with hands to remove moisture. Once "dry" traditional Levantine Arabs may re-soak the bulghar in olive oil and dash with a sour-lemony tasting spice called Sumack. This is step is optional, but this is the way I was taught by the mothers of dear friends from Jordan and it (while seldom seen in cookbook recipes) adds authenticity.

 

The rest is mint (treated the same way as the parsley), scallions (please cut on a diagonal, not straight across), tomatoes (some do not approve and/or insist on de-seeding and a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice. While fresh lemon is my favorite, many (most) good home cooks from the Levant will use bottled lemon juice from Middle Eastern markets and it has its own (good) thing.

 

You can play with the proportions to your taste, but these are the important techniques.

 

Bill

Edited by Spy Car
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I've seen tabouli recipes that are mostly parsley and some that are mostly wheat. We prefer mostly parsley. This recipe is from American Wholefoods Cuisine by Goldbeck I often leave out the scallions and mint.

.

 

The mint does not name it "minty", but more "lively". You can make extra, leave out the diced cuck and toms until serving time, and refresh with an extra spritz of lemon juice. That way you can keep it for a couple of days.

 

Many recipes add 1/4-1/2 teas cinnamon. You can also add a little toasted (dry fried until browned and easily crushed) cumin, crushed. For a change, a sprinkle of smoked paprika is friendly. I've even used allspice instead of cinnamon, to good result. You can use shot pepper (2 parts pepper and one part whole coriander...ground together). If you have an herb garden, a couple torn leaves of fresh oregano will not be amiss.

If you do succumb to olives (:confused:), use the Greek ones, not the canned type typical at a midwestern Thanksgiving table.

 

Use the best olive oil you can afford. EVOO at the very least.

 

Can you tell tabbuli is one of my most favourite foods? A warmed pita stuffed with it and drooled with tahini sauce is one of my favourite snacks.

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