Tabbouleh is a Middle-Eastern salad made with bulgur wheat, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and herbs such as parsley and mint drenched in a simple lemon juice-olive oil vinaigrette. While the husband loves tabbouleh and all things Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern, I have never been a fan of bulgur/cracked wheat. I used to grimace just thinking of cracked wheat upma when I was growing up. I used to call it "mannu (sand) upma". Cracked wheat literally tastes like gritty sand to me. However, having to fend for myself now, I am no longer that picky and more open to things. So, on those few days that I do make a salad or upma with cracked wheat, I add a lot of strong flavors to mask the muddy, sandy quality of cracked wheat.
This is my version of Tabbouleh, with hints of Mediterranean (feta) and Italian influences (basil). I really like this salad, because when basil is ground to a paste (similar to pesto), it just brings out more flavor and punch, so I like to use ground basil. You can even get basil paste at the grocery store near the herb section. To me, basil makes the salad more palatable. I don't like parsley, so I added our Indian substitute - coriander leaves. You can also substitute bulgur wheat with couscous, and the salad tastes great.
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 1 cup bulgur / cracked wheat
- 1.25 cups boiling vegetable broth/stock or just boiling water
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cucumber, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- a few sprigs of coriander leaves/cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons basil paste (puree basil, some oil, with a hint of lemon juice)
- 2 teaspoons dried mint leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- In a wide bowl, add bulgur and the boiling vegetable stock / water. Close the bowl and let the bulgur cook/stand for 20-25 minutes. Then, fluff the cooked bulgur with a fork.
- Add basil paste and dried mint leaves and mix well.
- Add cucumber, tomato and lemon zest and mix.
- Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to form a vinaigrette.
- Pour over the salad and toss.
- Finally add feta and coriander leaves and gently mix.
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