The world doesn’t need another recipe for tabbouleh, and certainly not from me. But when it comes to deciding what to blog next, and I flick through the Rolodex of my mind of all the people I know who follow my recipes, I think about enthusing those for whom time spent in the kitchen is a punishment and at the same time inspiring those with an already rounded repertoire and I reckon tabbouleh covers all the bases.
It’s not a dish that features on the menu and unlikely it ever will, but it’s a regular at mezzes and barbecues alike.
In brief, it’s a Lebanese parsley salad. It’s the sheer volume of parsley I find appealing; it’s fresh, clean, almost palate cleansing effect, works well as part of a barbecue spread – the complete opposite to the coleslaws and potato salads of this world.
Flecked with mint, tomato and spring onion, and dressed with lemon juice it’s suitably summery too. There’s no cooking involved either, unless of course boiling the kettle counts as cooking in your house.
I’ve specified the quantity of parsley by weight which might seem odd; you’ll need to guesstimate how many packets you’ll need once you’ve picked the leaves from the stalks, and work on a ratio of roughly 5 parts parsley to 1 mint.
Ingredients
(Makes enough for 6 – 8 people)
175g parsley leaves
35g mint leaves
50g bulghur wheat
8 x spring onions
4 x good sized ripe tomatoes
1 x large ripe lemon
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
In a bowl, cover the bulghur wheat in recently boiled water from the kettle and leave to soak, covered, for 10 mins. Drain, and fork it through. It should still be al dente.
Chop the parsley in small batches, using the sharpest knife you’ve got. Do the same with the mint and toss together in a bowl.
Slice the spring onions as finely as you can, using as much of the green part as you can. Add to the parsley.
Cut the tomatoes in half, scrape out and discard the seeds, then chop into small pieces. Add to the parsley and mix to combine, before seasoning well with salt and black pepper, the juice of the lemon and the extra virgin olive oil.
And that’s it, you’re done. Check for seasoning, adding a little more oil if it’s overly sharp with lemon.