Tabouli from scratch

October 30, 2010

I have been in the habit of buying the Near East brand boxed tabouli mix, but really it’s kind of like stone soup – you have to add your own oil, lemon juice, and tomato, so all you’re really getting in the mix is the bulgur wheat and some dried herbs.  I happened upon a bag of bulgur  in the supermarket the other day, and decided to try making some tabouli from scratch.   This also gave me the opportunity to use some of the mint from the ever-spreading patch next to my house.  I followed the recipe on the bag, more or less, and I think it came out better than the stuff from the mix:

Tabouli salad

  • 1/2 cup bulgur
  • 1 large or 2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
  • 1 large bunch scallions, chopped
  • 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1 small buch of fresh mint, chopped
  • juice of 2 lemons, or 1/3 of a cup
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Wash bulgur in several changes of cold water, drain.

Cover with boiling water (allow for swelling of the bulgur)  and set aside for 30 minutes.

Cut tomato in half, widthwise (like you would a grapefruit).  Squeeze & roll in your hand to loosen & remove most of the seeds and loose liquid around them.  Remove stem end and chop.

Peel the cucumber, then quarter lengthwise, and use a paring knife to remove most of the seeds, then chop.

Trim and chop the scallions.  Use all the white and as much of the green as you can – you just want to omit the dried outer leaves and the tough, dark green tips.

Pick over the parsley and mint, removing leaves from stems, then chop.  (If you’re picking your own, you want about a cup of parsley and 1/2 a cup of mint.  The bunches of parsley they sell in the stores are huge, I never can figure out how to use them up.  I suppose I could just double this recipe, but then I’d have to eat tabouli every day for a week to use it up!)

Drain the bulgur and squeeze out as much water as you can.

Put the bulgur in a large bowl, and add the chopped vegetables, lemon juice, and olive oil.  Season to taste.

If possible, prepare ahead of time so the bulgur has time to cool.  1/2 an hour in the fridge will do it.

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