Tabouli (also spelled Tabbouleh) is a Levantine salad made with fresh chopped herbs, tomatoes, cucumber, and bulgur. It's dressed in a light lemon vinaigrette and seasoned with salt and pepper. This powerhouse salad is loaded with delicious flavors and plenty of texture -- no wonder it's one of the most popular salads in the Middle East with its popularity spreading globally!
BULGUR: Bring a small pot of 1-1/4 cups of water to a boil. Meanwhile, add the bulgur to a large bowl. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and then pour the boiling water over. Stir, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for 15-25 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed in the bulgur. Remove the plastic wrap and fluff with a fork. Let cool to room temperature. (If you're in a hurry, pop it in the fridge!) We love making this part a day before -- makes the salad come together so much quicker!
DRESSING: In a wide-mouth jar, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Season to taste (I add 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper). Shake vigorously to combine and place in the fridge until ready to use.
SALAD: Add completely cooled bulgur, cucumbers, tomatoes, mint, parsley, and green onions to a large bowl. Toss gently. Add dressing and toss again. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.
STORAGE: This salad will stay fresh in an airtight container for 2-3 days, noting that the flavor (and aroma) from the green onions becomes more intense every day. Before enjoying, make sure to give the stored salad a good stir and taste to see if it needs more seasoning or another squeeze of lemon. This salad doesn't freeze or thaw well.
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Notes
Note 1: Bulgur wheat: Bulgur is wheat that is parboiled and then dried. There are different varieties mainly varying in coarseness. We like fine bulgur best -- not only does it make for the best texture in this salad, but it's also so easy to prepare. I've found this can be a hard ingredient to find in mainstream grocery stores so it's typically something I order online. If you don't get fine bulgur, follow package directions for cooking (the steaming method won't work the same with coarse bulgur).Note 2: Cucumbers: Regular cucumbers don’t work as well. They don’t have enough flavor and are too watery. Stick to an English cucumber or Persian cucumbers (Persian cucumbers are sometimes labeled as mini/salad cucumbers). You'll need 1 large English cucumber or about 4-5 small salad cucumbers.Note 3: Fresh herbs: I did try to speed up the prep by chopping all of the herbs in a food processor, but the result was lackluster -- the herbs browned quicker, chopped unevenly, and got watery. Yes, it's a lot of work (get a podcast going!), but this salad is best with hand-chopped herbs. Finely chop and tightly pack to get the proper measurement. Also, be sure to get flat-leaf Italian parsley, as opposed to curly for this recipe. Flat-leaf parsley has a more robust flavor and curly parsley is used more commonly as a garnish.