Tabbouleh

Several years ago while visiting a friend near Washington D.C., I was introduced to Lebanese food. I must admit I was a bit nervous at first. It all sounded so foreign to me. Let's see, we had Tabbouleh, Hummus, Baba Ghanouj, Falafel, and stuffed Grapeleaves to name a few. I have always been a big fan of salads and fresh vegetables so I became an instant fan to this new type of cuisine. Most everything we ate that night was vegetarian yet it was so flavorful and so filling!

To this day, I am still a huge fan of Middle Eastern food. Lucky for me, there are several great Middle Eastern restaurants here in Ann Arbor.

I randomly scrolled across this recipe the other day and had the instant urge to want to make it. I have a passion for trying new recipes especially when there are ingredients that are foreign to me. I love learning about new ingredients and searching them out in a grocery store. So today for example, I headed to Whole Foods in search of bulgar. I had no idea what aisle to find it in or what it would look like but I knew there would be a sales associate that would be more than willing to help me locate it. Bulgur can be found in the bulk aisle in Whole Foods. It felt like such a great accomplishment to make this recipe tonight. I learned how to prepare bulgar and now I know exactly what is in Tabbouleh the next time I order it in a restaurant.

It is such a fresh dish. It takes some time to do all the chopping, but it is so worth it! It tastes great by itself or served with pita bread.

Tabbouleh
Source: Gimme Some Oven

1/2 c. bulgur (a.k.a. cracked wheat)
2 c. water or chicken stock
3 c. curly parsley, finely chopped
1/2 c. mint, finely chopped
1/4 c. scallions, finely chopped
3-4 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 T. olive oil
juice of one lemon (or more to taste)
1/2 t. salt

In a large bowl, pour 2 cups of boiling water (or chicken stock) over the bulgur. Let it sit for 30-60 minutes until softened, and then strain the bulgur through a fine-mesh strainer.

Then combine the prepared bulgur, parsley, mint, scallions, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Add oil and lemon juice, and stir until well mixed. Add salt to taste.

Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to one day.