Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a Lebanese Vegetarian Parsley Salad thick with fresh herbs and vegetables.

Oddly enough, there is a Lebanese restaurant that makes a killer tabbouleh on my Grandparents 3-hour drive from Central Oklahoma to our house in Southeast Kansas. They've been bringing it for years, and our entire extended family is obsessed with it.

Pronunciation: tuh - boo - lee

For the 4th of July Holiday weekend, my mom requested I make tabbouleh and everyone agreed; I obliged. I scoured the internet for the perfect “authentic” recipe, and I even messaged my favorite Chef Gaby Dalkin on Instagram to see if she had a recipe as she is the Greek/Middle East Queen. She didn’t.

The ingredients in authentic tabbouleh are very common, except for Bulgar wheat. There has to be somewhere in Joplin that carries it, but after having made several stops, I was done looking. So, there went my “authentic” tabbouleh and I settled for quinoa instead.

A couple recipes I read mentioned using “instant Bulgar wheat” instead of regular Bulgar wheat, so I went that route with the quinoa as well.

This was my first time ever making tabbouleh, and with tough food critics as family members (mother), I corrected my measurements below to reflect the amounts of ingredients I would use if I made this again. (Which, I will…. It’s incredibly healthy when made with quinoa and is equally as easy to make). *Updated with new, favorable ingredients and quantities.

The recipe is completely gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, vegetarian and vegan. What a mouthful. Free of crap, full of flavor.

All this tabbouleh recipe requires is some fine chopping, or just a food processor. I think that the longer this sits in the fridge, the better. It won't last long though, it's too good.

Tabbouleh

Ingredients:
1 C. Fresh Parsley, minced
1/2 C. Fresh Dill, minced
2 C. Cooked Quinoa or Couscous
1 large shallot or small onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tomato, minced *optional
1 celery stalk, minced *optional
1 lemon, juiced & zested
1/2 c. olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

How to make Tabbouleh:

1. Cook your quinoa (or couscous) as directed on the box. Move to a large bowl.
2. Add chopped parsley and dill.
3. Finely dice the tomato, garlic and shallot.
4. Place all the ingredients in the bowl, mix well.
5. Add 1/2 cup olive oil (or more), salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Good tabbouleh is soaked in good quality olive oil.
6. Taste the Tabbouleh to see if you need to add any additional onion, parsley, salt, or lemon juice!