Tabbouleh (Bulgar Wheat Salad with Parsley and Mint)
 "Pin it!")
I was recently reading up on sources of Omega-3s somewhere on the internet, and was surprised to see that bulgar wheat was on the list.
I’ve only ever had bulgar in tabbouleh, but I dislike the taste of parsley so much (and I LOVE cilantro… strange, right?) that I’d never made tabbouleh at home, even though my mom and sister both have, and both make it well. But because it’s so easy and healthy, and because it made such a nice accompaniment to the other Middle Eastern dishes I made last weekend (<– future blog posts), I decided to give tabbouleh another try.
And you should, too! It’s a seriously easy, refreshing, and healthy salad or side dish. (For how many other grains, can you really claim that the cooking instructions are “just add water”?) Plus, I think I struck on a parsley-phobic-friendly ratio of bulgar to parsley.* Somehow it helped that I, perhaps unnecessarily, spent a good deal of time chopping the parsley very finely. Or at least I imagined that it helped…
Finely chopped parsley or not, tabbouleh is underrated. This just might be the perfect solution to your what-to-take-to-lunch worries (or your whatever-should-I-bring-to-that-potluck deliberations).
* This is basically a simple, traditional version of the recipe, as far as I know; I only added a pinch of cumin.
Print this recipe. (PDF)
RECIPE:
Tabbouleh (Bulgar Wheat Salad with Parsley and Mint)
(Serves 6-8 as a side dish)
Ingredients:
~ 1 cup bulgar wheat
~ 1 cup water
~ 5-6 scallions, chopped
~ 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
~ 1 large bunch (curly-leaf) parsley, very finely chopped
~ 1/4 cup lemon juice (juice from 1-2 lemons)
~ 1/4 cup olive oil (or more, to taste)
~ salt and black pepper, to taste
OPTIONAL:
~ 1 medium tomato, diced
~ pinch of ground cumin
How to make it:
1. Using a 1-to-1 bulgar-to-water ratio, pour water over the bulgar in a medium size bowl. Give it a stir, then set aside and let soak for 1 hour. By that time, the bulgar should have absorbed all of the water (otherwise, you can drain or press some of the excess water out).
2. Meanwhile, chop the scallions, mint, tomato, and parsley. (Depending on how finely you’d like it chopped, the parsley might take a while.)
3. After an hour has passed since Step #1, transfer the bulgar to a bigger bowl (if necessary, to accommodate all of the parsley, etc.), then add each of the other ingredients to the bulgar, and stir to mix well.
4. Adjust seasoning (including lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin) to taste.
5. Optionally chill for half an hour. Serve as an appetizer on a bed of lettuce leaves, enjoy as a side salad to other Middle Eastern dishes, or bring to a potluck!
Print this recipe! (PDF)
 "Pin it!"){kind=small}
 "Pin it!"){kind=small}
Related recipe posts:
> Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
> Lentil Green Bean Salad with Vinaigrette
> Baked Falafel and Tzatziki Yogurt Sauce
Trackbacks
- Shaved Fennel Salad with Strawberries & Purple Kale « spontaneous tomato
- Pita Chips with Labne Olive Oil Dip « spontaneous tomato
- Middle Eastern Cooking… « Dina's Daily
- Shepherd’s Salad « spontaneous tomato
- Battle of Wolf 359: End Times « The Secret Vegetarian
- Bulgar Salad with Parsley Cucumber and Mint | recipe 2 recipe
- Bulgur Salad with Parsley Cucumber and Mint « jittery cook
- Baked Falafel and Tzatziki Yogurt Sauce | spontaneous tomato
spontaneous tomato 
Looks delish! Gonna try this tonight! :)
Awesome! Hope you like it.
love tabbouleh-yours looks sooooo good
Thanks!
don’t ever let me hear you apologize for liking cilantro over parsley again!! cilantro is AWESOME!
Haha, don’t worry, I wasn’t apologizing for liking cilantro– I would never do that; I was simply noting that it might seem odd to some people that I LOVE cilantro (given that it’s so controversial), but strongly dislike parsley (given that it seems less controversial). To quote the title of a facebook group I once joined (do those still exist?), “Cilantro is the paramount herb.”
I’ve only had this once and I liked it. I must try making it. Your recipe looks great!
You totally just created my shopping list for the weekend!! I LOVE tabbouleh and it’s such a wonderfully refreshing summery meal :) Nicely done!!
Yay! And thanks! By the way, I love the name of your blog. Heading over there now to check it out : )
So, Eric hates parsley as well, I don’t understand it, as I love both parsley AND cilantro, so I’m interested to try this recipe that a self-avowed parsley hater likes. I freaking love tabbouleh, especially with some feta and hummus, so it’d be nice to be able to make it and not be the only one eating it.
Yes! You should try this… It really helps to just use a little more bulgar compared to parsley, and to chop the parsley very finely, which takes forever… I hope Eric likes it as much as I do! (I still don’t eat as much of it as Paula does– I mostly make it for her to take to lunch, and then sample a little from the fridge.)
Tabbouleh with feta and hummus sounds awesome. Since I posted this recipe, I’ve regularly been making tabbouleh just like this, but then also mixing in whole chickpeas and/or slivered almonds… it makes the tabbouleh more protein-ful and filling, and tastes so good!