Green Giraffe Tabouleh Salad

I LOVE Middle Eastern food and I especially love tabouleh salad.  It is a bright, textural and all around delightful grain and herb salad.  Last week, I accidentally grabbed too much fresh parsley at the grocery and it was staring at me from the refrigerator willing me to use it.  So, I checked the pantry for bulgur and my counter for lemons and tomatoes and just like that my over abundance of parsley had a new home – into my tabouleh salad it would go!

Necessities:

2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 2 large)

2 cups chopped fresh parsley (about 2 large bunches)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (whatever color you have on hand)

2 cups cooked bulgur

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Method:

The first thing you will want to do is prepare the bulgur.   If you have never purchased it before, you can usually find it near the rice in the grocery store and if not there, check the “health food” isle.  I buy coarse cracked bulgur because I like the texture, but you can also use a fine grain – it will just be a bit smaller.   To make it, rinse 1 cup bulgur in a colander with cold water then add to a bowl.  Next pour 2 cups of boiling water into the bowl and let sit for 20 minutes.  The bulgur will absorb the water and fluff up.  If using a different type of bulgur, just follow the directions on the package.

20 minutes later almost all of the water will be absorbed and you will end up with about 2 cups of ready to use bulgur.  Drain any excess water and allow to cool. For reference here is a picture of dry bulgur on the left and prepared or “wet” bulgur on the right.  If you’ve never had it before you you might think it’s “under-cooked,” because it has a slightly chewy texture – don’t worry it’s suppose to taste like that 😉

Next prepare the tomatoes, parsley and onion.  You can chop the tomatoes and onion as big or as small as you’d like, but I prefer my onion to be pretty fine so that it flavors the salad and I don’t have to chew on a big piece of raw onion.  Also make sure to wash and chop the parsley making sure to remove the tougher stems.

Add the chopped veggies to a large mixing bowl and zest and juice your lemons.  As always, I used one of my favorite kitchen tools, my microplane to zest my lemons.

Lastly, add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix, mix, mix and voila your tabouleh salad is made. I recommend you put your salad in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to mingle together. 

This recipe makes 4 cups of tabouleh salad which is plenty to serve 4 adults lunch with a side of pita bread and hummus.  I also like to serve it as a side dish with larger meals or add it to grilled meats as a bright topping. For dinner I made salmon and topped it with the tabouleh and fresh avocado and it was delish.  The possibilities are endless, my friends.  I hope you try it out and let me know how you like it best.  Until next time, happy cooking!

Green Giraffe Tabouleh Salad

Recipe by The Green Giraffe EatsCourse: Salads, Vegetarian, SidesDifficulty: Easy

This tabouleh salad is lemony, fresh, quick and easy; perfect for any summer time meal.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 2 large)

• 2 cups chopped fresh parsley (about 2 large bunches)

• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

• 2 cups cooked bulgar

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions

• Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
• Mix until combined.
• Refrigerate and allow flavors to mix for at least 30 minutes.
• Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight contained for up to 5 days.

Notes

• Did you make this recipe? Tag @thegreengiraffeeats on Instagram and hashtag it #thegreengiraffeeats