Plate of Tabouleh
(click to enlarge)

Tabouleh


Lebanon / Syria   -   Tabouleh
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-3/4 #
**
2 hr
Note-3		 Perhaps Lebanon's most famous dish, this salad is also enjoyed in surrounding countries. While proportions vary somewhat, an authentic tabouleh is made with a modest amount of wheat and an immodest amount of parsley.




3/4
3
1/3
12
3
1/3
3
1/2
1/2
----
c
c
c
oz
oz
t
oz
c
T
---
Bulgur, fine (1)
Parsley, flat (2)
Mint
Tomatoes
Scallions
Pepper, black.
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil, ExtV
Salt
-- Serve with
Romaine Lettuce.

See Note-3 on preparing in advance and Note-4 on serving.

Make   -   (2 hr)
  1. Soak BULGUR in warm water to cover for about 45 minutes (add more water as needed to keep covered. Drain through a very fine strainer, bag and refrigerate.
  2. Strip leaves from PARSLEY stems and chop fine. Do the same with MINT, mix, bag and refrigerate. Note: Chop with a very sharp knife, or, preferably, a mezzaluna, to avoid bruising the herbs - you want them to look good.
  3. Peel TOMATOES, chop fine and refrigerate.
  4. Chop SCALLIONS fine, using white and light green parts.
  5. Mix Scallions, Pepper and Bulgur. Refrigerate.
  6. Squeeze LEMON JUICE and mix with Olive Oil and Salt. Refrigerate.
  7. When ready to serve, mix everything together well, then adjust lemon juice and salt to taste.
  8. Serve with Lettuce Leaves.
NOTES:

  1. Bulgur:

      #1 or #2 can be used. Do not attempt to use cracked wheat - bulgur is precooked and soft, cracked wheat is raw and hard.

  2. Parsley:

      The amount given is for chopped fine and moderately packed in the measuring cup. Use only flat leaf (Italian) parsley, curly leaf tastes like plastic. 1 pound of not too stemmy parsley will yield 8 ounces (50%) which will measure about 3 cups chopped.

  3. Make Ahead:

      The procedure given here presumes you want to make it ahead as much as possible. Using this sequence and keeping everything refrigerated you can make it up to 6 hours ahead. About 3/4 hour is devoted to the tedious job of stripping Parsley leaves from stems. In the Levant this would be assigned to children eager to help, but you'rs would probably call Child Services if you tried to drag them from their texting and video games.

  4. Serving:

      This salad is traditionally served with Romaine Lettuce leaves on the side. Some salad is spooned onto a piece of leaf, the leaf is rolled around it, and eaten.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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