Tabbouleh

Lebanese Tabbouleh (Tabbuleh)

A bright, herb-heavy salad from the Levant in which finely chopped parsley is the star and the bulgur is just a supporting note. Tomatoes, mint, onion and a generous lemon-olive oil dressing bring everything together.

Prep

25 min

Cook

10 min

Total

35 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •60 g (⅓ cup) fine bulgur wheat (#1 grade), fine, not coarse; #1 grade so the grains stay tiny in the herb salad
• •4 g (1 tsp) fine sea salt, for soaking the bulgur
• •250 g (about 8 cups loosely packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley, stems removed; flat-leaf (Italian) is closest to the Levantine variety
• •30 g (about ½ cup packed) fresh mint leaves
• •15 g (about ¼ cup) fresh green onion tops, use mostly the green parts, finely sliced, in the Levantine style
• •200 g (2 medium) ripe tomatoes, firm, not overly juicy; seeded if very wet
• •60 ml (¼ cup) fresh lemon juice, from 2 to 3 lemons, to taste
• •60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, good Lebanese or other robust extra-virgin olive oil
• •2 g (½ tsp) ground sumac, optional but traditional; adds the characteristic tangy, fruity note
• •1 g (¼ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• •0.5 g (pinch) salt, to taste, added at the end after tasting

Steps

1. 1 Place the fine bulgur in a small bowl, add about 80 ml (⅓ cup) cold water and the 4 g (1 tsp) of fine sea salt, stir once, and leave to soak for 15 to 20 minutes until the grains are tender but still have a tiny bite. Drain very well in a fine sieve and press out excess water; set aside. Do not cook the bulgur — in Lebanese tabbouleh it is soaked only.
2. 2 While the bulgur soaks, wash the parsley in several changes of cold water and spin dry thoroughly. Strip the leaves from the stems (discard stems), then chop the leaves very finely on a large board — aim for a confetti-like texture of about 1 to 2 mm, not minced to a paste. Transfer to a wide salad bowl. Chop the mint leaves the same way and add to the bowl.
3. 3 Finely slice the green onion tops. Peel the tomatoes, halve them, scoop out and discard the seedy pulp if the tomatoes are very juicy, then dice the flesh very small (about 5 mm). Add both to the bowl with the herbs.
4. 4 Add the drained bulgur, sumac, black pepper, lemon juice and olive oil to the bowl. Toss gently with two forks or your fingertips so the herbs are coated but not bruised.
5. 5 Taste, then adjust with more salt and lemon juice: the salad should be boldly tangy and salty enough to stand up to the volume of raw herbs. Let the tabbouleh rest for 10 minutes so the bulgur absorbs the dressing, then toss once more and serve. Do not chill it cold — Lebanese tabbouleh is best at cool room temperature.
6. 6 Serve on flat plates or in a shallow bowl with crisp lettuce leaves (such as romaine leaves) on the side for scooping, the traditional way to eat it in Lebanon.