It still tastes great!
Our family loves the Nashville Greek Festival that takes place every fall. We manage to eat there at least two or three times during the weekend event. All of the food they sell is delicious and inspires me to add more Greek dishes to our own menus, since the festival only happens once a year! With that in mind, last night I made Pastitiso (BLOG) and Tabouli, because my son asked for it. It’s not a Greek Festival staple, but I fell in love with Tabouli long ago at a Greek Restaurant in Memphis. I’m told it is a Lebanese dish, but Tabouli recipes are in two of my Greek cookbooks. (Maybe it does come down to spelling!) Plus, recipes are all over the web and I have to say they are all a little different.
Some have mint - I love that - some have cucumbers - won’t work at my house. The kind I bought at Sunshine Grocery a million years ago had two black olives per container and I always saved them for last. I guess it’s fair to say that my Tabouli is a variation of lots of recipes reinvented over time to fit what we like. Basically that comes down to lots of parsley, some mint – both still hanging on in the garden – green onions, tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil – and of course the main ingredient – cracked wheat (aka bulgur). The amount of ingredients is sort of a personal preference. Recently I ordered Tabouli with friends at a restaurant and got a bowl of parsley with a few grains of wheat. I think the secret is to keep tasting and add more of what you like – it’s a lot easier to add than to take away!!! Life lesson maybe?
Bulgur or cracked wheat used to be available only in specialty stores, but now it can be found it in most large grocery stores. To make that part of the salad just mix 1 part bulgur with equal parts boiling water. Cover it with a dishtowel and leave it alone.
The next step is to chop up herbs. Because of a marvelous Christmas present of herb scissors – thank you Anna – I have the ability to do that quickly. If you don’t have herb scissors, I find that kitchen shears are up to the task. Chop your veggies and add to the herbs. Squeeze lemons, add olive oil, and salt. By this time the bulgur should have soaked up the water and cooled down enough to mix everything together. Now refrigerate until time to eat! Excellent news, this salad is perfect to make ahead and to keep for several days. In fact, it’s always a next day thrill if we have leftovers (we did not). Here is my recipe, make it, add what you like or leave it out, but definitely give it a try. YUM
Ingredients
2 cups bulgur
2 cups boiling water
1 bunch chopped parsley (about ½ to ¾ cup)
¼ cup mint leaves chopped
1 bunch green onions sliced thin
4 plum tomatoes (or whatever tomato you have available) chopped
3 lemons juiced
¼ cup olive oil
Salt to taste – start with a tsp
Directions
In a large bowl mix bulgur and boiling water. Cover with a dishtowel and let it sit for about half an hour.
In another bowl, combine all remaining ingredients.
Uncover bulgur and when it has cooled combine it with the herb mixture.
Start tasting and feel free to add more lemon or salt, or whatever you like.
Additional additions (can I say that?) can be cucumber, black olives, and extra herb garnishes.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
