Haha! I love that expression. And now that it’s out of the way, let me clarify – Tabbouli, however you spell it, is not solely a Greek Dish. Yes, those are all ‘correct’ ways of spelling it - just depends who’s talking and who you risk offending. Hopefully, I am not offending the entire middle-eastern region in one fell swoop.
I refer to a Levantine Arab salad traditionally made of bulgur, tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, onion and garlic, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. I’ve also enjoyed variations using couscous, quinoa and even hemp ‘hearts’ instead of bulgur. My best discovery yet was learning that soaked bulgur worked every bit as well as cooking it, so I no longer cook it. At all. You can’t tell the difference, and I have less pots to clean, less power to pay for and less heat in my (already hot) Florida kitchen. That’s an exciting discovery when I can take one of my favorite dishes, be LAZY and like the results even better 
Tabbouleh is served as part of a mezze in the Arab world, was adopted by Cypriots and Turks and Armenians also serve their own variations. It’s now a popular ethnic food all across Western cultures and supremely high in helpful Luteolin, which shows up in every ingredient but the grain. The traditional recipe (included below) is all about the Greens, not the grains, anyway. That’s part of how we’ve ‘Americanized’ the dish. My all-time favorite version doesn’t even have any grain. I enjoyed it at Chef Mathew Kenney’s Raw Vegan temple, uh ‘academy’, placed smack in the middle of meat-and-potatoes territory in Oklahoma City!
Tabouli is, above all, a PARSLEY SALAD, which also has scallion, mint, olive oil and lemon, all high on the luteolin-o-meter Did’ja notice how I managed to work in all three spelling variations into my post? Clever, right? To go with that, I’m giving you three recipe variations, too, all in the name of balance.
Traditional Tabbouli – this one’s Vegan, Vegetarian and Raw, super green, tasty and refreshing. This recipe can accommodate a gluten free option and the addition of cheeses if you are not raw/vegan)
Serves 4:
1/2 cup fine bulgur wheat, soaked in 1 cup soaking water, till grain is soft (check after 2 hours of soaking time)
4 bunches parsley, flat and curly leaf, stemmed and chopped
2 bunches mint, stemmed and chopped
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup seeded, and finely diced cucumber – see pic below (peel if not using an organic cucumber)
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon good* salt
juice of 1 lemon
6 tablespoons of your lustiest olive oil. This recipe can take the bold flavor.
*Kosher, Celtic, Sea, Himalayan, Malden, Gris – there are so many interesting varieties. Go ahead and use your favorite. Take the time to appreciate each one’s distinct flavor.
Notes:
1. Do use organic produce wherever you can, for your health, the farmers health and our soil.
2. I learned early on how helpful it is to read through an entire recipe and process before doing anything on it at all. I find it saves on potential confusion, which can be made worse under the time constraints of an open flame… Word!
3. If you prefer a Gluten-Free option, use Quinoa in place of Bulgur.
4. If you eat dairy, then a tangy feta or ricotta salata will lend a nice counterpoint.
Instructions:
While Bulgur soaks in water, wash, chop and measure out everything else.
Wash, dry and pick through your greens, parsley, mint and scallions to remove the leaves from the tough stems, root ends from the scallions and chop the leaves and scallions finely. Juice your lemon; chop your tomatoes and cucumbers. If you get a significant amount of seeds and liquid from your cucumbers and scallions, reserve those for soup -making or the compost bin.I freeze the odds and ends like cucumber ‘butt-ends’, scallion tips and roots, herb stems, and all trimmings, to use later in soups, smoothies or sauces, even compost for the garden and container plantings. Nothing ever goes to waste!)
Combine all ingredients together, fork-tossing for light, airyness. Your end result will look a lot like either the 5th or 8th picture below. Mmmmm….
I have to warn you, I am gloating over this next one… You see, on various occasions, I’ve served this to loved ones and none of them ever realized (or believed me) this Tabouli had no grain at all, no bulgur wheat, no quinoa – nothing! The finely chopped cauliflower fooled them each time. You can see a picture of it above – it’s the last photo in the series. It really looks like the ‘real-deal’ once the turmeric is added, more for color, than taste. Try it…. I’m giggling already
PS: it’s outright deelish, no matter what’s in, or not in there.
Cauliflower Tabouli Salad (Raw Vegan, Grain & Gluten-Free)
Yield: 12 side servings
1 medium head white cauliflower
2 bunches parsley, de-stemmed (try 1 of each of both flat and curly varieties)
1/2 onion, rough chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (substitute with 1 large elephant garlic clove for a milder taste)
20 cherry tomatoes (save 5 for garnish)
20 kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon good* salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper, or to taste
*Kosher, Celtic, Sea, Himalayan, Malden, Gris – there are so many interesting varieties. Go ahead and use your favorite. Take the time to appreciate each one’s distinct flavor.
Notes:
1. Do use organic produce wherever you can, for your health, the farmers health and our soil.
2. I learned early on how helpful it is to read through an entire recipe and process before doing anything on it at all to reduce confusion.
Instructions:
Chop raw cauliflower in your food processor till it looks like the same size as grains of bulgur wheat. Remove and set aside. Pulse together onion, parsley, tomatoes, olives and garlic. Add to the cauliflower and toss to combine.
Dress with the remaining ingredients, fork-tossing to dress salad evenly and fluff ingredients simultaneously. Garnish with a few roughly cut tomatoes. Serve chilled or room temperature. If covered in the fridge, this will last for up to one week.
Finally, the third among my favorite favorite Tabbouli recipes is a parsley salad with heart-healthy, omega-filled hemp seeds in place of bulgur wheat. This dish is Inspired by Chef Matthew Kenney
1 bunch Flat leaf parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped
1 cucumber, seeded & finely diced
2 scallions, finely diced
10 leaves fresh mint, finely sliced into ribbon ‘chiffonade’* or minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon, fresh preferred
1 Tablespoon Hemp seeds
Freshly ground salt & pepper, a few grinds of each, to taste
Wash, chop and measure out all the ingredients. Fork-toss to lightly combine. This salad is light, refreshing and best eaten on the same day.
* this ribbon-slicing technique is demonstrated and explained here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJEQFgfv7iw
- Luteolin Rich Recipes – Intro (rawsomeeats.com)
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