Recipe

Tabbouleh

6 servings (mezze portions) · prep 30 min · cook 0 min

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• lunch
• levantine
• vegetarian
• vegan
• raw
• summer

Authored by the maintainer; Lebanese herb-forward method — parsley as the green base, bulgur as the supporting grain.

Ingredients

the grain

• 60 g fine bulgur wheat — Puglia wheat farm

the herbs

• 5 large bunches flat-leaf parsley (about 400 g whole bunches, ~250 g leaves picked)
• 1 small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked

the vegetables

• 3 ripe Roma tomatoes, finely diced (5 mm) — Origin not credited
• 4 scallions, finely sliced (whites and greens)
• 1 small cucumber, finely diced (optional — Palestinian-style addition; Beirut purists omit)

the dressing

• 60 ml fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons) — Sicilian citrus orchard
• 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil — Liguria olive mill
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt — Trapani salt pans
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly cracked — Kerala pepper estate
• Pinch ground allspice (optional, traditional)

Method

1. Soak the bulgur in 100 ml cold water for 15 minutes. It should soften and triple in size. Drain any excess; squeeze gently. · 15 min
2. Wash the parsley aggressively and dry completely in a salad spinner. Wet parsley waters down the salad. Strip the leaves and tender top stems; discard the woody lower stems.
3. Chop the parsley with a sharp knife — finely, but not to a purée. Aim for confetti, not paste. A food processor bruises the leaves and turns them khaki; chop by hand. Same with the mint. · 8 min
4. Fold the bulgur into the parsley and mint.
5. Add the tomato, scallions, and cucumber if using. Fold gently.
6. Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and allspice. Pour over the salad and toss to coat.
7. Rest 10 minutes — gives the bulgur time to soak the dressing. Taste before serving — adjust salt, lemon. · 10 min
8. Serve at room temperature, scooped onto romaine or cabbage leaves, or as part of a mezze platter with hummus, baba ghanoush, warm pita, and falafel.

Notes

The single biggest error in non-Levantine tabbouleh is the bulgur-to-
parsley ratio. American supermarket tabbouleh is often 70% bulgur,
10% parsley, the rest tomato — essentially cracked-wheat-and-tomato
salad. The Beirut version is closer to 70% parsley, 10% bulgur.
Two different dishes.

Sharp knife is mandatory. A dull knife bruises the parsley as it
chops; bruised parsley releases water and turns the salad damp.
Knife maintenance is a tabbouleh skill.