Real Tabbouleh Recipe
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This dish is simple to prepare and bears no resemblance to its ready-made equivalents. I know chopping all these herbs does take a lot of time, but it really is worth making it yourself.
What to buy: Do not try to make this dish with the meager plastic bags of fresh herbs available from supermarkets. If you cannot get beautiful bunches of fresh herbs from your store or farmers’ market, make something else instead.
- 1/2 cup bulgur wheat
- 8 tomatoes
- 6 shallots
- 5 bunches Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
- 2 bunches fresh mint
- Juice of 6 lemons
- 12 tbsp olive oil
- Soak the bulgur wheat for 15 minutes in some warm water with 1 tsp lemon juice. Drain well and dry in a dish towel (yes, that’s right, a dish towel). Peel and finely dice the tomatoes, and chop the shallots, parsley, and mint very finely. Combine all these ingredients with the bulgur wheat in the serving dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice, season to taste, and leave to stand for at least 2 hours. Before serving, adjust the seasoning and stir gently, adding more lemon juice and/or olive oil if necessary.
Beverage pairing: Pio Cesare Cortese di Gavi, Italy. For a dish as dependent on fresh herbs as this one, the wine required should have an herbal quality as well. Gavi is such a wine. From northern Italy, it’s always clean and light, with plenty of brightness and a certain, attractive “green” character.
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food
team.
Curly parsley is an alternative that will express less flavour but will withstand the dressing and tomatoes. Tip: remove the liquid pulp and seeds from the tomatoes (it helps make it drier).
I leave out the tomato because it makes the tabbouleh get wet and slimy faster. With just parsley, fresh mint, and scallions it stays crumbly and lasts longer in the refrigerator---a week, useful to dip into, and you can add tomato and cucumber on the side when you eat it.
If you want to cheat a little and save a TON of time, "chop" the parsley and mint a few pulses each in a food processor. You don't want to do it too long, or the leaves will end up as mush.
I'm going to try these ideas! You're all geniuses!
have been making this for so many years, that
it really isn't a recipe, but this is the best I can do
Tabbouleh (Parsley Salad)
1/4 to 1/2 cup burghul, fine cracked wheat
2-3 bunches fresh finely chopped parsley
2 large fresh tomatoes (diced)
I use cherry tomatoes, as I am allergic, and this way others can have tomatoes in the dish.
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
6 finely chopped green onion
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (this is to taste
salt (as desired)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
a dash of all spice (as desired)
Wash chopped mint and parsley then drain well.
put the burghul in a bowl. It will take a few times
to really know how much you need. Some like the salad more parsley and other like it more burghul.
I like a little more parsley.
cover it with the hottest tap water, just to almost cover the burghul. Then add enough fresh lemon juice
to cover it. Let stand until dry. The burghul will absorb
the juices and water. Then fluff it with a fork. This process may take 20 minutes to 1/2 hour.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Add olive oil and lemon juice, toss the mixture well.
put it in the fridge with a cover.
When You are ready to serve it, it must be tasted and refreshed with more olive oil and lemon juice
toss well
Linda in Tennessee
Because I love cheese I usually add crumbled feta right before serving. And for colour I prefer red onion to shallots.
A good friend of mine is Lebanese-her mom uses half parsley, half spinach (all fresh of course) & it is incredible. All other ingredients are the same
Just some additions/ideas to this wonderful recipe. I am lebanese born & half raised :) the rest has been in Ca.
-The recipe doesn't mention what type of seasoning. Salt of course, sea salt is best. Also a must is a dash or 2 of allspice (key ingredient to authentic taste) I also add a pinch or 2 of white pepper.
-I like it lemony so adjust to taste.
-For a quick bulgur soak, use warm water but drain & cool before using.
-Seeding the tomatoes keeps it from getting soupy, especially if storing overnight. Usually best to eat it same day.
-We typically serve it w/ Romaine lettuce spears, it's a great serving tool & really fun for guests.
I think that's how the chicken lettuce wrap got its start :)
Bon Apetit!
Well, I just made some of my own recipe yesterday -- I got the recipe from my Syrian grandmother and Syrian mother. I rinse the burgul in a few changes of water, and then let it sit and soak up the last rinsing with just enough water to be a little on the dry side. This takes about 30 minutes, just enough time to chop the ingredients.
I take the parsley -- about two big bunches for two cups of dry burgul -- and put it in a plastic tub with a seal. Add water to fill the tub about 2/3 full and cover and shake vigorously. Lift the parsely off the dirty water and give it a good rinse under the tap. Roll up some paper towels to get most of the moisture off and then cut off most of the stems (use them in vegetable stock). Coarsely chop the parsley and add it to the burgul.
Finely dice tomatoes (4-5 big ones), cucumber (one peeled and seeded), about 3 bunches of green onions (the white to very light green parts), and if you like, about a half cup's worth of diced red bell pepper for added crunch. Add to the burgul.
Salt, pepper, fresh squeezed lemon juice and olive oil, all to taste, and then stir and let sit overnight. Stir again and pig out!
This sounds authentic. How about adding just a very small amount of cinnamon for authenticity? I saw it in a Lebanese cookbook and was afraid to use it for years and finally tried it. It is great. I have seen diced cucumbers and scallions in authentic tabboulis too.
this really IS the real tabbouleh. Love the main ingredients being parsley and tomatoes: more like a salad, instead of a soggy grain dish, as most of the stuff one finds in the US. The lemon juice really makes it shine.
I made this with herbs from my garden - and it was delicious! There was quite a bit left over (4 hungry adults coudn't quite finish it!) and it was still tasty for the next night's dinner.