Herby Tabouli Recipe

If you look up the word "fresh" in the dictionary, we are pretty sure you will see a picture of a beautiful bowl of tabouli. This traditional Lebanese salad is a combination of fresh herbs, vegetables, and a lemon dressing that screams fresh from the garden. This recipe for herby tabouli is brought to us by wellness coach Miriam Hahn who says that "This salad is loaded with lots of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, while being flavorful and delicious. I try and use fresh herbs in all of my cooking because of the unique flavor they bring and the high amount of health benefits they offer." This salad is very versatile, and pairs well with a hearty soup, a sandwich, pasta, or anything off the grill. Hahn says, "If you want to make it a meal in itself, just add some white beans and you've got a great, quick lunch." 

For this recipe, you will need to pick up some bulgur wheat. This is a dry grain that you can find near the rice in some grocery stores, or easily online. If you prefer, you can substitute this with quinoa. You will also need 3 bunches of Italian parsley, English cucumber, tomato, fresh mint, scallions, lemon, fresh garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Hahn uses an English cucumber because they are less watery than standard cucumbers, and opts for Italian parsley over curly parsley because it is less bitter.

Firstly, add the dry bulgur wheat to a small pot with 1 cup of water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove the cover, fluff with a fork, and let it cool in the pot.

While the bulgur cooks, you can prep the other ingredients. To prep the parsley, Hahn's method starts with chopping off and discarding the stems. Then, she immerses the parsley in a bowl of water to remove any dirt, then spins it dry in a salad spinner. If you don't have a salad spinner, draining it in a colander in the sink will work. Now, pull the leaves off of any remaining stems, and place them on a layer of paper towels. Cover with an additional layer of paper towels, and pat down to remove any remaining moisture. Finally, chop the parsley. 

Next, dice the unpeeled English cucumber and tomato. Place in a colander, shake with a little salt, and let them drain in the sink. Meanwhile, chop the mint and scallions, and using a garlic press, crush the garlic.

To make this simple dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic cloves, remaining salt, and pepper. Now, as you guessed, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and serve up this beautiful tabouli salad. Hahn tells us it is best eaten shortly after making it, but if you store it in the fridge in a sealed container, it will still be good the next day. We hope you will love this herby tabouli salad.