Tabbouleh Recipe: Bulgur Salad with Fresh Herbs

Step-by-step recipe

1. As I said, tabbouleh is easy and quick to make. For extra ingredients I added ripe tomatoes, young green cucumbers and a small clove of garlic. Everything else is always in the kitchen: bulgur, fresh parsley and mint, onion. By the way, all the vegetables and herbs must be very fresh. It helps to soak the cucumbers and all the herbs in cold water first, which makes them crisp.
   
2. The bulgur should not be the coarsest kind. If need be, you can crush it a little to make the grains smaller. There is no need to boil it: just pour freshly boiled water from the kettle over the bulgur for 10-15 minutes. Wheat bulgur is already cooked and dried during production, so it only needs to soften a little. If you have trouble finding bulgur, you can replace it with couscous, the same kind used for chicken couscous or slightly larger.
3. Drain the steamed bulgur in a colander and squeeze it lightly to remove excess moisture. Transfer the grains to a bowl and sprinkle with 1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice. Stir and leave until completely cool.
   
4. Cut the ripe tomatoes in half and remove all the seeds. The skin can stay. Dice the tomatoes a little larger than you would for Olivier salad. Finely chop only the green part of the green onions with a knife and add it to the tomatoes.
   
5. Pick all the leaves off the parsley and mint sprigs and discard the stems. Chop all the herbs with a knife as finely as you can. If you decide to add garlic, peel one clove and chop it finely too. Add the chopped herbs and garlic to the tomatoes.
   
7. Crush a pinch of cumin between your fingers or in a mortar and sprinkle it over the vegetables, then add a little salt. Gently toss the salad so the vegetables mix and the salt dissolves.
   
8. Add the prepared bulgur, cooled to room temperature, with its lemon juice to the salad. Mix well so the grains are evenly distributed and there are no clumps.
   
9. In a small bowl, mix 3-4 tbsp of the best olive oil with 1 tsp lemon juice. Whisk the oil with a fork and it will emulsify slightly. This mix of oil and acid is, in fact, known as vinaigrette. Pour the dressing over the tabbouleh and stir.
   
10. Divide the salad among bowls or pile it on a large platter. Garnish with sprigs of mint and parsley. If you like, season the dish with hot red pepper. I have seen sliced hot chili rings added as well. Don't forget that the salad is meant to be “slightly spicy”.
    
11. Serve the salad as a standalone appetizer or as part of an assortment of appetizers, at room temperature. If you want to use tabbouleh as a side dish, put it on a plate next to meat or homemade kebabs.