Introduction: Tabbouleh

Written By Maddie Mocol

We are a mother daughter duo of home cooks, who make a variety of foods from all over the world. Our pantry is plethora of ingredients to which the name of our blog comes from. My mom married my dad who is half Lebanese and that makes me a quarter. Growing up, we would make some of the Lebanese foods, but it wasn’t until a few years ago I started making more of it myself and exploring more Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods. One of those being Tabbouleh or Tabouli, some people even refer to it as Parsley Salad. This is a simple dish and felt it was a great one to start off with. Our family loves to eat it on pita pocket bread with hummus. It doesn’t take many ingredients, and it lasts up to 4 days in the fridge.

Tabbouleh

An easy addition to any Middle Eastern mezze platter.

Tabbouleh Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup bulgur wheat*

  • 2 cups water

  • 1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced

  • 2 green onions, chopped

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Prepare the Bulgur: In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the bulgur wheat, cover, and remove from heat. Let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let it cool.

  2. Chop the Vegetables: While the bulgur is cooling, finely chop the parsley, tomatoes, and green onion.

  3. Mix the Salad: In a large bowl, combine the cooled bulgur, chopped parsley, tomatoes, and green onion.

  4. Dress the Salad: Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  5. Toss and Serve: Gently toss all the ingredients until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Let the tabbouleh sit for about 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

  6. Enjoy: Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serve with hummus, grilled meats, or eat on its own.

*You can substitute quinoa if you cannot find bulgur. I have substituted quinoa before and it is a 1 to 1 ratio. My recommendation if you use quinoa is to follow the directions on the packaging of the quinoa as the rehydration of the grain will differ from bulgur.

Maddie Mocol