Tabouleh

Before I discovered middle eastern salads, I thought salads were a waste of time, simply some watery vegatbles that act to fill you up, or not as the case was.  However I was wrong.  Tabouleh is a salad that has so much flavour, its zesty, fresh and the textures are amazing.  It doesn't need to be served on the side of anything, and can be served as a dish in itself! It can usually be found as part of any Lebanese/Syrian mezze.




Its main ingredient is parsley, followed by mint.  The the leaves need to be sliced VERY thinly.   It does make a difference! They are used as salad leaves rather than herbs.  The salad also has tomatoes, onions and bulgar wheat.  A real tabouleh does not have any cucumber in it, but i like to add a little.


I've seen some Taboulehs with LOTS of bulgar in it, almost being the main ingredient.  But the tabouleh found in the Levant only have a show of bulgar.


Ingredients
1 bunch parsley
1 small bunch of mint
1 red onion
3-4 tomatoes
Juice of 1 large lemon, or there abouts
2-3 teaspoons garam masala/baharat
a pinch of cinamon
2-3 inch piece of cucumber (optional)
1 tablespoon of bulgar wheat
a pinch of salt
olive oil for dressing


Method
Finely chop the parsley and mint.




Cut the onion, tomatoes and cucumber into small cubes and add to the leaves.  Sprinkle over the bulgar and spices, salt, add the lemon juice and a good drizzle of olive oil. Mix and allow to sit for about 20 mins or so, so that the bulgar wheat absorbs the juices and the flavours mingle.  Enjoy!







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