Authentic tabbouleh that goes well with all grilled meats, especially venison!
I don’t know what it is, but tabbouleh at most restaurants is never quite how I like it. It’s never enough parsley and often never enough lemon juice. It’s usually a mound of bulgur with the lightest fleck of green from the parsley. I prefer it the other way: mostly parsley, with the lightest fleck of bulgur. Sometimes, when you want something done you’ve got to do it yourself. Or find someone that can do it right.
A very good friend of mine joined us for dinner and graciously shared his mother’s tabbouleh recipe. His mother is Lebanese, so this is a Lebanese version. Having said that, the dish is so simple while it does vary from region to region, it varies slightly. The main advice here is to not skimp on the parsley! This should be more of a salad and less of a starch.
The nice thing about this recipe is that it’s all in the chopping. Start by covering the bulgur with boiling water and let it sit, then get to chopping everything. By the time you finish chopping, the bulgur will be tender and you can toss everything together lickety-split. Lastly, tabbouleh is best served alongside grilled meats! It’s also delicious if you put it inside romaine hearts. The salad fits perfectly in the lettuce leaf making an easy and delicious wrap.
- 3/4 cup bulgur wheat
- 4 bunches parsley finely chopped
- 4 large tomatoes seeded and finely chopped
- 1/2 red onion finely chopped
- 1 large seedless cucumber finely chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 lemons juiced
- 2 sprigs mint leaves pulled and finely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
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Boil 2 cups of water and pour over the bulgur in a bowl. Cover and let sit 15 minutes, while you chop the other vegetables.
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Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to mix. Serve immediately or let sit up to four hours.
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