Tabbouleh

About This Recipe

Tabbouleh is Lebanon's most famous salad and arguably its most misunderstood export. Authentic Lebanese tabbouleh is a parsley salad with a little bulgur, not a bulgur salad with a little parsley — the version found in Western supermarkets inverts the ratio entirely. Mountains of finely hand-chopped flat-leaf parsley are tossed with fresh mint, ripe diced tomatoes, green onions, and just enough fine bulgur to soak up the tomato juices, then dressed sharply with lemon juice and good olive oil. The result is light, tart, and intensely green, traditionally scooped up with crisp romaine or tender cabbage leaves rather than a fork. It appears on virtually every Lebanese mezze table and is a point of genuine national pride.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 cupsfresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 cupfresh mint, finely chopped
• 1/2 cupfine bulgur wheat
• 3 mediumtomatoes, finely diced
• 4 stalksgreen onion, chopped
• 1/4 cuplemon juice
• 1/4 cupolive oil
• 1 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspblack pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak bulgur

   Rinse the fine bulgur, then pour just enough boiling water over it to cover, lid the bowl, and let it sit 10 minutes. Drain any excess and squeeze handfuls firmly dry — wet bulgur makes soggy tabbouleh. Fine (#1) bulgur needs no actual cooking.

   Many Lebanese cooks skip the soak entirely and let the raw fine bulgur soften in the tomato juices and lemon instead.

2. 2

   Chop the herbs

   Wash and thoroughly dry the parsley and mint, then chop them finely with a sharp knife using a gentle rocking motion. Avoid the food processor — it bruises the leaves and turns them watery and dark. Dice tomatoes small and slice green onions thinly.

   Dry herbs are everything: spin or towel-dry them completely, or the salad will weep within minutes.

3. 3

   Combine and dress

   Toss parsley, mint, tomatoes, green onion, and bulgur loosely in a wide bowl. Pour over the lemon juice first, then the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and fold gently with your hands or two spoons until every shred of herb glistens.

4. 4

   Serve

   Taste — tabbouleh should lead with lemon, so adjust acidity boldly. Serve at room temperature mounded on a platter, surrounded by small romaine or white cabbage leaves that guests use as edible scoops in the traditional Lebanese style.

Variations

• •

  Quinoa tabbouleh: swap cooked, cooled quinoa for the bulgur to make it gluten-free without losing the texture.

• •

  Winter tabbouleh: add seeded, finely diced cucumber and a handful of pomegranate seeds for crunch and tartness.

• •

  Spicy Aleppo version: fold in a pinch of Aleppo pepper and a little pomegranate molasses, Syrian style.

• •

  Cauliflower tabbouleh: use raw riced cauliflower instead of bulgur for a low-carb take.

Storage

Tabbouleh is best eaten within a few hours of dressing; refrigerated leftovers keep up to 2 days but the herbs soften and release liquid. To prep ahead, chop and store the components separately and combine with the dressing just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions