Tabbouleh home-made, Refreshing and full of flavour
This tabbouleh is always a winner! Easy to make and absolutely delicious.
Tabbouleh originates from the Eastern Mediterranean area. Traditionally made with bulgur wheat, but some people use semolina instead. It is most often used as part of a mezze, in which multiple small dishes are shared and enjoyed together.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
🥘 Main ingredients
Which Bulgar to use;
Bulgar is mainly made of durum wheat and is parboiled. It is typically available in fine, medium, coarse or extra coarse grinds.
Personally I prefer using the fine grind bulgar for tabbouleh. This bulgar does not need cooking. Normally about 7 – 10 minutes of soaking in double the amount of hot water will be enough. The advantage of soaking is that the bulgar stays firm and doesn’t get mushy. Besides it soaks up the flavours of the tabbouleh better.
But if you only can get coarse bulgar you will either have to adjust the soaking time, or shortly boil it in water. Check the recommendations on the package, and slightly shorten the timing if you don’t want to end up with mushy bulgar. In my recipe picture I actually used coarse bulgar myself as that was what I had in my cupboard at the moment of making 😉
The Herbs;
A Tabbouleh is all about herbs. In comparison there should be way more herbs used than grains. Of course over time everybody develops their own preference. But traditionally it is all about the herbs!
The most important herb is parsley. There should be at least triple the amount of parsley than mint (or coriander, if you use). The herbs should be very finely chopped, or use a food processor.
🥘 Other added ingredients
Tomato is another main ingredient for tabbouleh. It should be very finely diced, and should be a hard tomato. So not the nice juicy ones in this case, keep them for another recipe. You can choose to drain the tomatoes after chopping to get rid off most of the juices.
Cucumber is not a traditional ingredients. But nowadays often added because it gives a nice crunch and freshness to the dish.
A good amount of lemon juice is needed in a good tabbouleh. Some people prefer lime juice, or a mixture of the two. A little tip; Before serving squeeze a little extra of lemon or lime juice on top.
A great salad to play with. Make it a few times and you will find your own preferred proportions of ingredients. Have fun, and most of all ENJOY! Add @haricoco1 to your instagram post, so we can share our personal favourites.
📋 Recipe
Ingredients
- 50 gr 1/3 cup fine bulgur
- 20 gr 1/2 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
- 75 gr 1 cup parsley, finely chopped
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 1 small onion or spring onion, finely chopped
- 2 or 3 hard tomatoes finely chopped and drained
- 1/3 cucumber peeled and de-seeded, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt
Instructions
- First start with soaking the fine bulgur in double the amount of hot water, leave to soak for approx. 10 minutes (only if you use fine bulgur, if you use coarse bulgur you might want to cook it shortly. Follow instructions on package in that case)
- Very finely chop the mint leaves and parsley. You can use a food processor for this.
- The onion, tomato and cucumber are better chopped with a knife.
- Drain the tomatoes after chopping, and take out the seeded part of the cucumber.
- When the bulgar has soaked, fluff it up using a fork.
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and add the olive oil, salt and almost all lemon juice.
- Chill the tabbouleh minimum 1 hour in the fridge.
- Add the last little bit of lemon juice just before serving, and check your seasoning to see if extra salt is needed.
Notes
Nutrition
This winner-tabbouleh is part of my series; ‘Travels of taste‘. Discover the world with the use of our senses and imaginations. Today we find ourselves around the Mediterranean. If you are ready to imagine yourself travelling around the Mediterranean while sensing its salty air & tasting it delicious foods. Check out my full Mediterranean ‘travels of taste’ post; >>> The Med; Olive oil, herbs & fresh produce.
