Tabbouleh or Tabbouli (or sometimes called tabouli) is a middle-eastern salad of Lebanese and Syrian origins. It is mainly made with mint, onion, chopped parsley and bulgur but other variations can contain garlic, lettuce and semolina. It is also flavored with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Tabbouleh Ingredients
The ingredients used for making tabbouleh differs slightly depending on the location in which it’s made. Mostly, in Arab countries, tabbouleh is served as an appetizer or meze and a Turkish version of tabbouleh contains more bulgur than parsley.
Since it is delicious and can be prepared easily, tabbouleh has made its way to the western world where it may be eaten with avocado, broccoli, celery or be seasoned with sumac, allspice and it is continuously gaining popularity in the western communities ever since. If you are not the type of person who likes to cook then tabbouleh must be one of your favorite choice as it is usually served cold, the dish is hot though. Luckily, it doesn’t take you a lot of time to prepare a side dish as tasty as tabbouleh.
Tabbouli is not served as a main meal
Oftentimes, tabbouleh is not served as a main meal but it is not meant to say that it lacks nutritional value. Tabbouleh is rich in terms of different vitamins including vitamin C and K and it contains fiber and healthy fats. Although you may find tabbouleh good enough to make you feel full but some variations of this type of food is served next to meaty foods like kabab. Otherwise, you can add even some beef or chicken to it so that it makes you feel stuffed after the dinner.
A simple recipe for making tabbouli is as follows:
What you need is ¼ cup of fine bulgur wheat, (one small minced garlic clove is optional) and two large lemons’ juice. Three cups of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley. ¼ cup chopped mint and ½ pound ripe tomatoes chopped finely.
1 bunch scallions chopped finely and ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil. One romaine lettuce heart with leaves separated, washed and dried.
In the first step you place the bulgur in a bowl and cover with water by 1/2 inch. Then you soak it for 20 minutes until it is slightly softened. Drain in cheese cloth-lined strainerpress the bulgur against the strainer to squeeze out with extra water. Change to a large bowl, and garlic toss, lemon juice, mint, parsley, tomatoes with scallions and salt. You can leave at room temperature or just place it in the refrigerator for two to three hours so that the bulgur can continue to absorb liquid and swell. Mix the olive oil & toss together, taste and adjust seasonings.
