How To Make Tabouli

A great vegetarian side-dish for brunch, lunch, or dinner, Tabouli is a classic Middle-Eastern salad, and in addition to being low in fat, is surprisingly cheap to make. It traditionally forms part of a mezze in Arab cuisine, and whether you choose to take it along to a potluck supper, serve it alongside grilled meat and seafood, or simply eat it cold with pita bread as an appetiser, Tabouli can easily be made at home and is a healthy option as opposed to cream or mayonnaise-based salads.

Prep time: 20-30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25-35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Utensils: Large bowl, wooden spoon, water jar, serving plates and serving spoon

 

Instructions

  • 1

    Ingredients:
    Medium-grind bulghur (often labelled as #2 grade): 1 cup
    Boiling water: 1 cup
    Diced tomato: 1 cup
    Diced cucumber: 1 cup
    Diced onion (soak in ice water to crisp it and mellow it) or green onions (no need to soak those): ½ cup
    Chopped parsley: 1 cup
    Chopped mint (can also be substituted with cilantro or dill): ¼ cup

    For The Dressing:
    Fresh lemon juice: ¼ cup
    Extra virgin olive oil: ⅓ cup
    Clove garlic, minced: 1
    Salt: 1 teaspoon
    Pepper: 1 teaspoon

  • 2

    Start by preparing the bulghur. Also known as cracked wheat, bulghur is basically wheat grains that have been parboiled, dried out, and then cracked into pieces – so essentially, they are cooked, and just need to be rehydrated. Mix the bulghur and boiling water together in a bowl, cover it with cling film, and allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes, and at most 30 minutes.



     

    Bulghur wheat
  • 3

    Combine the tomato, cucumber, onion, parsley, and mint together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the dressing, and put this aside.

    Mixed vegetables
  • 4

    Check on the bulghur – you’ll know it’s done when it has absorbed all the water, and has become tender and soft.

    Hydrated bulghur wheat
  • 5

    Proceed to combine the bulghur and vegetables together in a bowl. Then, pour over the dressing and toss it all together with a wooden spoon.

    Tossed tabouli
  • 6

    Cover the bowl with cling film, and refrigerate it for around an hour, to allow it to chill and ensure that the flavours have time to blend together.

    Finished tabouli salad
  • 7

    Garnish with more parsley and mint, and serve cold.

    Tabouli salad

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