Tabouleh, Tabbouleh or Tabbouli

It doesn’t matter how you spell it, it’s a healthy and delicious side dish! Tabbouleh is a Lebanese dish that is typically made of parsley, mint, tomatoes, onion, bulgur and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. I recently taught one of The Chopping Block's Mediterranean-inspired classes and was excited when I saw tabbouleh was on the menu. I actually had this dish three times in the last week!

There are many variations to this dish around the various regions of the Middle East. Some recipes are heavier on herbs and use less bulgur.

Feel free to ad lib to your taste! For a more cost-friendly budget and less chopping, you can use the following ratios:

Tabouleh Salad

Yield: 4 servings as a side

Active time: 20 minutes

Start to finish: 1 hour, 20 minutes

1 cup bulgur wheat (medium ground)

2 cups warm water

1/2 cup fresh parsley, rough chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, rough chopped

4 roma tomatoes, medium dice (see note, below)

1 clove garlic, minced

3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Soak the bulgur and water together in a medium size bowl for 1 hour.
2. After the bulgur has been soaked, drain well through a fine sieve, pressing out any excess water. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Stir in the parsley, scallions, mint, tomatoes and garlic into the bulgur.
4. Mix in the lemon juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Allow the flavors to blend for about 2 hours, refrigerated, prior to serving. 

Note: If fresh tomatoes are not in season you can substitute 3/4 cup semi-sun-dried “pomodoraccio” tomatoes.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical that the bulgur would soften enough to be edible by just soaking with hot water, but it did! Tabbouleh is such a refreshing and filling dish. After being outside in the heat all day, I was starving, but didn’t want anything too heavy for dinner. So I made tabbouleh, cucumber yogurt sauce and seared chicken breast.

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Active time: 10 minutes

Start to finish: 40 minutes

1 cup plain or Greek-style yogurt

1/4 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced or coarsely grated

1/2 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon fresh dill, rough chopped

Lemon juice to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce.
2. Chill for 30 minutes to blend flavors. 

This cucumber sauce tastes great on anything! I didn’t want the rest of the cucumber to go to waste, so I diced it and added it to my tabbouleh.

Whether you are on the Mediterranean Diet, or just looking to add something new to your repertoire, try Tabbouleh. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Want more ideas like this dish for no fuss cooking during the week? Check out our upcoming Quick and Easy Weeknight Meals cooking class.