Tabboulleh

Nothing takes me back to a warm beautiful day like this tabbouleh recipe. Sometimes I close my eyes, and imagine I am on a veranda close to the Mediterranean. Other times I can feel the sun on my face while I layout close to the Dead Sea. When reality hits and I see the gray skies of Seattle, it becomes necessary to make this recipe no matter what season it is currently.

I begin with soaking the bulgur wheat in the juice of 2 lemons. It is important for this recipe to be made with fresh lemons. The whole recipe is centered around fresh ingredients, and it becomes very apparent when the lemon is not fresh. While the bulgur wheat is soaking, start to prepare the parsley. This is the bit of process that can take the most time. Sure, the traditional method is to get flat leaf parsley, and chop the leaves into tiny bits by hand. Well to be honest, that makes my hands cramp and takes too much time.

I prefer to prepare the parsley the day before I make the salad. I remove the leaves from the stem and wash thoroughly. If I have time, I will use the salad spinner to dry the parsley quickly before placing in the fridge. If time does not allow for this, no sweat. It isn’t the end of the world. After the parsley has been able to dry overnight, it is easy to throw in my food processor. This short cut, takes out about 30 minutes to an hour of time, depending on your chopping skills.

A few notes about using the food processor for chopping the parsley. It is important that the leaves are very dry, so they do not turn into a swampy texture. If you did not prepare the parsley the day before, just use the salad spinner and pat the leaves with a towel before placing into the food processor. Also use the curly leaf parsley; it holds up better when being chopped than the flat leaf parsley.

After the parsley is prepared, place it into a large bowl and mix in the mint, tomatoes, and green onions. In a separate bowl make the dressing for the salad out of the remaining 2 lemons and olive oil. Once the juice and the oil is completely mixed together, add it to the salad. Tabbouleh should not be drenched in the dressing, so do not feel like you need to use all the dressing. Salt to taste and give the salad a final toss.

Ingredients:

½ cup bulgur, fine cracked wheat

Juice of 4 lemons

3 bunches fresh parsley, finely chopped

A bunch of mint, finely sliced

3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced

10 green onions, chopped

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Begin with soaking the bulgur wheat in the juice of 2 lemons. While the bulgur wheat is soaking, start to prepare the parsley. Remove the leaves from the stem and wash thoroughly. Dry the parsley completely and put in the food processor. Once the parsley is finely chopped, place it into a large bowl and mix in the mint, tomatoes, and green onions. In a separate bowl make the dressing for the salad out of the remaining 2 lemons and olive oil. Once the juice and the oil is completely mixed together, add it to the salad. Salt to taste and give the salad a final toss.