salad - bulghur salad, Middle Eastern
t=teaspoon T=tablespoon
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Tabooli-Middle Eastern Bulghur Salad
Also spelled tabulee, tabboulee or similar, this is a very popular Middle Eastern salad for which every cook has favourite variations. Originally, the Lebanese
made this with only parsley, oil, the seasonings and lemon juice. Later,
a little soaked bulghur was added. A good Tabooli should be quite green with the chopped herbs and not
mostly bulghur. High in fibre, full of vitamins and refreshing, it is delicious all year but especially in the summer. The following is my
variation of a basic recipe. See article in Food Bytes section on bulghur.
serves 4 (stores well for several days refrigerated)
125 g. fine bulghur (+ - 1/2 c. + 2 T.)
250 ml. chicken broth (or water)
1 large ripe tomato, finely chopped
8 T. finely chopped parsley leaves*
4 T.
finely chopped fresh mint leaves *
1 medium onion, finely chopped or
approx. equivalent of green onion
30-40 ml. olive oil
3-4 T. lemon juice (or more if you prefer)
1 to 2 tsp. salt
pepper
a few splashes of tobasco (optional)
*Tablespoon measures are slightly rounded.
Rinse the bulghur and drain quickly. Place in a deep bowl and pour over the warm chicken
broth (or warm water). Allow to absorb, covered for about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain off any
unabsorbed liquid and discard. Add the remaining ingredients - except the
oil and lemon juice - and toss to mix evenly. Then add the oil and
lemon juice, tossing again to coat the grains well. Adjust
the seasoning according to taste, adding a little more lemon juice or salt and
pepper.
Arrange lettuce leaves (Romaine is best) on a flat plate, and place a large mound of the salad in
the middle. Serve with pita bread. Scoop up the salad with the lettuce leaves, fill them and roll
them up or stuff the pita bread. Any way, it is a nutritious, delicious, fun salad!
Note: double this recipe as it keeps well in the refrigerator for several days. The Lebanese seem to prefer the
medium or course grades of bulghur and a little more lemon in their variation.
If you use other than fine grade. Serve this with Labni, a kind of
yoghurt cheese (Middle Eastern food shop). If you do use other than fine grains,
be sure to let it soak sufficiently - at least one hour. The bulghur should be
soft between the fingers. If I can get them, I prefer chopped green onions in place of the medium onion and a little more tomato.
You can, of course, increase the parsley and mint as you like. However,
most cooks use half the amount of parsley for the mint.
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added to any form of archive or other works of any kind. Contact the author for further information.
The Epicurean Table © 1999-2002 Patricia Conant