Tabbouleh Recipe

by Washingtonpost.com Lifestyle, Davidlebovitz.com

Tabbouleh is an Arabic salad with small variations in different Middle Eastern countries, made of bulgur, finely chopped mint and parsley, tomato and spring onion, seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil.

This classic and well-loved Middle-Eastern dish is perfect to serve with fish, chicken, red meat or on its own.


Tropical Tabbouleh

Ingredients:

*4 Servings

• 2 cups cooked and cooled pearl barley

• 1 cup firmly packed chopped fresh cilantro

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

• 3 scallions, sliced

• 3 tablespoons lime juice

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 cup diced mango

• 1/4 teaspoon allspice

• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste


Preparation:

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss well, then season with salt and pepper.


Nutrition Values per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number):

200 calories; 70 calories from fat (33 percent of total calories); 8 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 5 g fiber; 10 mg sodium.



Mediterranean Tabbouleh:

Ingredients:

*4 Servings

• 2 cups cooked and cooled farro

• 1 cup chopped fresh basil

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 2 tablespoons chopped oil-packed sundried tomato

• 1 tablespoon oil from sundried tomatoes

• 2 tablespoons chopped Kalamata olives

• 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and diced

• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste


Preparation:

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss well, then season with salt and pepper.


Nutritional Values per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number):

210 calories; 40 calories from fat (18 percent of total calories); 5 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 10 mg cholesterol; 35 g carbohydrate; 9 g protein; 6 g fiber; 210 mg sodium.

Source: Washingtonpost.com Lifestyle



Anissa Helou’s Tabbouleh

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons (30g) fine bulgur

• 3 medium (600g) firm ripe tomatoes, diced into small cubes

• 2 (50g) spring onions or scallions, trimmed and very thinly sliced

• 14 ounces (400g) flat-leaved parsley, most of the stalks discarded, leaves washed and dried

• 2 cups (20g) mint leaves (no stems), washed and dried


• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (or Lebanese seven-spice mixture)

• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

• salt to taste

• juice of 1 lemon, or to taste

• 2/3 cup (150ml) extra virgin olive oil

• 4 gem lettuce heads, washed and quartered


Preparation:

• Rinse the bulgur in several changes of cold water. Drain well and put in a bowl. Stir it with a fork every now and then to help it fluff up.

• Put the diced tomatoes in a bowl and set aside while you prepare the herbs. A word of warning: do not chop the herbs with a mezzaluna. This will only bruise them.

Using a razor-sharp knife, grab as much of the parsley and mint as you can handle in a bunch, and slice them very thin, to end up with nice, crisp slender strips.

• Drain the tomatoes of their juice and put in a large bowl. Add the spring onion and herbs. Sprinkle the bulgur all over. Season with the cinnamon, allspice and pepper. Add salt to taste. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately with the quartered gem lettuce.


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Original Anissa's Tabbouleh Recipe