Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh: Lebanon's parsley salad with a little bulgur, tomato and lemon
In Lebanese homes tabbouleh is a green salad first and a grain salad a distant second: a heap of finely cut flat-leaf parsley and mint, flecked with fine bulgur, diced tomato and spring onion, and sharpened with lemon and olive oil. It turns up on every mezze table from Beirut to the mountain villages, and families make it in big bowls for Sunday lunch, scooping it up with crisp inner leaves of cos lettuce. It tastes bright, lemony and fresh, and goes with falafel, grilled halloumi or any spread of dips and bread. The usual mistake is chopping wet parsley, which bruises into a dark, soggy mush; dry it thoroughly and slice it with a sharp knife instead. Chef's tip: dress the bulgur with the lemon juice and tomato juice first, so it softens in that liquid instead of in water and soaks up all the flavour.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rinse 1 ⅜ oz fine bulgur wheat in a sieve under cold water for a few seconds, drain well and tip it into a large bowl. It should feel damp, not swimming.
Step 2: Dice 3 firm ripe tomatoes into 5 mm cubes on a board with a rim, and scrape the tomatoes and all their juice on top of the bulgur. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and leave to soak while you chop; the grains swell and soften in 15 minutes.
15 minStep 3: Wash 5 ½ oz flat-leaf parsley and ½ oz fresh mint leaves and dry them very well in a salad spinner, then on a tea towel. Gather a tight bundle of parsley, cut off the thick stalks and slice it as finely as you can with a sharp knife, in one pass rather than rocking back and forth. The cut herbs should look bright green and fluffy, never dark or wet.
Step 4: Roll the mint leaves up tightly and slice them into thin ribbons. Trim and finely slice 4 spring onions.
Step 5: Check the bulgur: bite a grain and it should be tender with a slight chew. Season it with 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground allspice and ¼ tsp ground black pepper.
Step 6: Add the parsley, mint and spring onions to the bowl, pour over ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and the rest of 2 tbsp lemon juice and toss gently with your fingertips until everything is glossy. Taste: it should be clearly lemony; add more salt or lemon if it tastes flat.
Step 7: Serve straight away, while the parsley is crisp, with 8 cos (romaine) lettuce leaves leaves for scooping.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 160 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tabbouleh take?
- About 25 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of flat-leaf parsley?
- Curly parsley or coriander, same amount.
- What can I use instead of fresh mint leaves?
- Fresh coriander, same amount.
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