Don'tcha love saying Tabouli?

I have been on a Middle Eastern kick lately although I have always loved Middle Eastern food. I mentioned my Middle Eastern lunch yesterday so I thought I would continue on that theme instead of catching up on some of my other dishes.

According to Wikipedia Tabouli (or Tabbouleh or tabouleh) is a traditional mountain dish from the Eastern Mediterranean and is a main Lebanese dish. It has also become one of the most popular Middle Eastern salads.

It's a fresh and healthy salad loaded in vitamins that is great for picnics and BBQs since you don't have to worry about the mayo going bad. It's also a great diet food that doesn't make you feel like you're dieting or starving yourself because the bulgar wheat has tons of fiber that keeps you feeling full. It also has a lower glycemic index than white rice or couscous making it great for people with diabetes.

My mom used to make Tabouli all the time when I was a kid and it was the only way you could get me to eat large amounts of parsley or tomatoes. It's not necessarily a great dish for kids but if you're trying sneak in some veggies or get your kids used to the idea of parsley, you can tone down the amount of parsley and serve it in a pita pocket with lots of creamy hummus, feta cheese and a tasty falafel. (oooh I should make falafels)

There are many variations of Tabouli but as long as you have bulgar wheat, parsley, tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice and little salt, you will have the classic version of a Tabouli.

Tabouli my way (4 servings)
2 ripe tomatoes diced
1/2 cup of chopped parsley (curly or flat leaf parsley)
half of a cucumber seeded and diced
1 cup of buglar wheat soaked in boiling water and drained if necessary and squeeze dry
1 cup of hot water

dressing
2 tablespoons of lemon juice or half of a large lemon
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
2(1/2) tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove grated or chopped fine

1) Boil the water and soak the bulgar wheat in the hot water for about 30 minutes until softened. Give it a stir to allow all of it to soak properly. Make sure that you drain any excess water before mixing with the other ingredients.
2) Add bulgar wheat to cucumbers, parsley and tomatoes.
3) Whisk dressing and add to (2)

There you have it. Tabouli to eat as is, with pita chips or in a pita sandwich.

Tabouli Pita Pocket
Tabouli
Pita bread
feta cheese
hummus

1) Cut the pita bread in half and separate it to create a pocket.
2) Spread a generous amount of hummus inside
3) Sprinkle some feta cheese
4) Add a few spoon fulls of tabouli
5) You can also add your favorite lunch meat or falafels.

Eat immediately so the pita bread doesn't get soggy and prepare napkins!
Serve it with extra tabouli on the side and extra hummus and pita chips.