Tabbouleh — Lebanese Parsley Salad
The Lebanese parsley salad: a mountain of finely chopped herbs with just enough bulgur, sharpened with lemon and olive oil.
Method
- Dice the tomatoes first and put them in a sieve over a bowl with a pinch of salt. Use the juice they release to soak the bulgur, which seasons the grain and keeps the salad from turning watery.
- Put the fine bulgur in a small bowl and pour over the tomato juice, topping up with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Leave for 15 to 20 minutes; fine bulgur needs no cooking.
- Wash the parsley well and dry it completely in a salad spinner or cloth. Wet herbs will not chop cleanly and dilute the dressing.
- Gather the parsley into a tight bundle and slice it as finely as you can with a sharp knife, discarding the thickest stalks. Never use a food processor, which bruises the leaves and turns them to mush.
- Stack and roll the mint leaves and slice them finely too, keeping them separate until the end so they do not blacken.
- Combine the parsley, mint, spring onions and drained tomatoes in a wide bowl.
- Add the soaked bulgur, which should be tender and plump but still have slight bite.
- Dress with the remaining lemon juice, the olive oil, cinnamon if using, salt and pepper, and toss gently with your hands.
- Taste and adjust lemon and salt; it should taste bright and sharp. Serve immediately with romaine leaves for scooping.
How to make Tabbouleh — Lebanese Parsley Salad
Tabbouleh in Lebanon is a herb salad. The parsley is the dish, and the bulgur is a seasoning: a few tablespoons to give body, never the cupfuls used in the grain-heavy versions sold in supermarkets abroad.
Chop by hand
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A sharp knife cuts the parsley cleanly; a food processor crushes it, releasing water and turning the salad dark and sludgy. It takes ten minutes and it is the single biggest factor in the result.
Dry the herbs
Wash well, because parsley carries grit, then dry thoroughly. Any water left clinging dilutes the lemon and oil and pools in the bottom of the bowl.
Use the tomato juice
Soaking the bulgur in the juice drained from the salted tomatoes does two jobs at once: it hydrates the grain with something flavourful and removes the excess liquid that would otherwise make the salad soggy.
Serving
Tabbouleh is dressed at the last moment and eaten fresh, scooped with romaine leaves or cabbage rather than bread. It is a mezze dish, served alongside hummus, fattoush and grilled meat.
Traditional Lebanese cookery; tabbouleh is a herb salad rather than a grain salad, a distinction often lost abroad. Editorially researched from widely documented preparations, and not kitchen-tested by Axadle.
Contains gluten from bulgur wheat. Dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free. Use fine quinoa for a gluten-free version.
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