4 to 6 people
I don’t know anyone in my family who doesn’t enjoy a freshly prepared bowl of Tabouli. It is a popular salad in the Eastern Mediterranean region and is more commonly made in the warmer months of the year.
I tend to make this more in the colder months of the year as it is packed with nutrients, antioxidants and Vitamin C to help boost the immune system. It also breaks up all the hot food we have and is a welcome and refreshing addition to the family meal repertoire.
Although this salad is simple to make, so many times people get it wrong by being afraid to season it well or by adding too much crushed wheat (burghul) or by having an incorrect ratio of ingredients.
This is my mother’s recipe and if you follow it precisely you will experience the taste of authentic Tabouli, the way my mother makes it. It’s zesty, refreshing, moreish and one serve is never enough.
Ingredients
- 3 bunches of parsley or 3 ½ cups of firmly packed, finely chopped parsley without stems
- 500g tomatoes finely diced or 5 small tomatoes
- 75g spring onion finely diced or ½ bunch
- ¼ cup of brown crushed wheat (burghul) soaked for 20 minutes then drained well
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
- Few leaves of fresh mint finely chopped (optional)
- Pomegranate seeds (optional)
Dressing:
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (otherwise regular table salt is fine)
- 40mls good quality olive oil
- 80mls lemon juice
Method
- Preparing the parsley is very important. Even store-bought parsley could have the occasional weed or little garden insect hiding amongst the leaves. It pays to wash and inspect the parsley thoroughly and allow it to dry on kitchen towels before cutting.
- Once your parsley is sorted and dry, remove the stems and finely cut the leaves using a sharp knife or mezzaluna.
- Measure 3 and a ½ cups of tightly packed chopped parley and place it into a bowl, add the diced tomato, spring onion, chopped mint, lemon zest, pomegranate seeds, and drained crushed wheat.
- Add the dressing, lemon juice, salt and olive oil and toss all the ingredients very well.
- Serve this salad with fresh baby cos lettuce leaves or fresh young vine leaves.
Tips
- You can also use salad onion or brown onion for this recipe.
- Adding pomegranate seeds is very popular as it adds a tangy sweetness which compliments all the flavours. The flavour burst which comes from the popping pomegranate seeds in your mouth is sensational.
- You can mix the pomegranate seeds in or use it as a garnish on the top.
- Use a good quality sea salt for your salads. I use Maldon Sea Salt as it imparts a “clean zing” to my salad. Regular table salt tends to be a little bitter.
- You can substitute crushed wheat (burghul) with quinoa for a gluten free option.
