Parsley Salad
For people who do not know what to do with parsley other than garnishing, this is a welcome change. Tabbouleh is a very vibrant middle eastern salad made from parsley and is served as a part of the mezze, which is a collection of small dishes served either as appetizers or a main meal.
It is a fresh vegetarian salad and can be made very quickly. The main ingredients are Parsley, bulgur, onions, tomatoes, and mint, though there are a lot of variations out there.
Bulgur is parboiled wheat, just like the parboiled rice that we get in India. It is considered to be very nutritious on par with whole grain. For this salad though, we will be using fine bulgur, which is ready to use after a soak in water for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Some people prefer to soak in hot water, but for me, cold water worked just fine. Bulgur is available at all supermarkets in Qatar. I got mine at Family Food Centre.
In places where bulgur is not readily available, pre-cooked quinoa or cracked wheat (samba Rava) can be substituted. The quantity of ingredients is a matter of personal preference. I prefer using lots of parsley and keeping the bulgur to a minimum.
Soaking the bulgur for a long time will make it pasty. When the bulgur is on the drier side, it’l absorb the moisture in the salad and the salad will be fluffy.
Parsley is a very nutritious herb and combined with the rest of the ingredients, this salad will get you hooked for life 🙂 .
More details on parsley and other herbs at Herbs around the world.
Tabbouleh
Ingredients
- 2 handfuls parsely
- 1 small sized, big onion
- 1 small tomato
- 2 tbsp fine bulgur
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- few mint leaves
- a bit of spring onion (optional)
- salt & pepper powder as per need
Instructions
- Wash and soak the bulgur in 1/4 cup of water for 10 minutes.
- Chop the onions, tomato, garlic and parsely as finely as possible.
- Take all the veggies in a bowl. Squeeze the bulgur to remove all the water, and add to it.
- Add in the salt, pepper powder, lemon juice and olive oil and mix well to incorporate. Thats it. Your Tabbouleh is ready.
Hema’s P.S
- Chop the parsley as finely as possible, so that it gets well incorporated into the salad.
- Adjust spices as per need. Onions and tomatoes can also be increased on personal preference.
- Spring Onions are optional. Some people even omit garlic and mint.
- Bulgur makes the best tabbouleh, though there are other alternatives.
Check out my other salad recipes
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