Lebanese Tabbouleh salad

Tabbouleh is such a distinct and iconic salad that has become so well known all over the world. I always find this salad in the prepared food section at the supermarket, as well at any Mediterranean food stand, cart or restaurant, even more so than Fattoush! With a parsley base, this delicious salad combines fresh mint, scallions, tomatoes and bulgur. The dressing is pretty much the same as any Lebanese salad, fresh lemon juice and olive oil. Bulgur is healthy cracked wheat, very similar to quinoa. I find it at my Middle-Eastern grocer but, it is available at other supermarkets such as natural-food stores like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. The only critique I have with the “Americanized” version of Tabbouleh is that it almost always has too much bulgur wheat. The traditional version is much greener, with only a bit of bulgur throughout. Like couscous, bulgur plumps up quick as soon as any liquid hits it. Being so, two tablespoons in the entire salad might seem like nothing but, once the salad is tossed together and the bulgur has fluffed up, it’ll be much more visible.

This is a wonderful salad to make for guests, as it really brightens up any table. I love to make this, especially during the summer using the fresh parsley and mint from my garden. I prefer to use Italian (flat) parsley in this salad but I have seen it made using curly parsley so, feel free to use that if you prefer. Everything in this salad should be finely chopped, especially the parsley, you don’t want to see any leaves in it. You can prep the tabbouleh in advance if need be. However, do not add the tomatoes or the dressing until you are ready to serve it. To serve, wash some romaine lettuce and serve on the side. I have commonly seen the lettuce used kind of like a utensil to scoop up the salad.

 Ingredients

• .5 bunch Scallions 
• .25 cup Mint Leaves
• 2 Tomatoes
• 2 tb. Fine Bulgur
• 2 tb. Olive Oil
• 2 tb. Lemon Juice
• .5 tsp Salt

Instructions

• Prepare the vegetables by thoroughly washing them and set aside to fully dry.

  Once dry, cut the ends off the parsley and finely chop followed by the scallions (whites and greens), mint leaves, and tomatoes.

  Combine in a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
• Sprinkle the fine bulgur over the fresh vegetables. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well until combined.
• Serve immediately with fresh lettuce.

Notes

The juice from the tomatoes and dressing will plump the bulgur within 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 85kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 0.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 291mg | Fiber: 1.9g | Sugar: 1.9g | Vitamin A: 2000IU | Vitamin C: 54.5mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1.8mg