The best tabbouleh
Don’t be fooled into thinking Martha Collison's recipe is a grain salad – it’s very much a herb salad with added bulgur, not the other way around. Chop the herbs by hand, to give the salad a little more body and save them being puréed by accident, which can happen in a food processor.
- Serves4 generously, as a side
- CourseSide
- Prepare20 mins
- Cook15 mins
- Total time35 mins
- PlusPreparation time 20 minutes + cooling
Ingredients
- 50g The Levantine Table Bulgur Wheat
- 100g pack flat leaf parsley, trimmed stems and leaves
- 25g pack mint, leaves only
- ¼ cucumber
- 1 large beef tomato (try an Essential Slicing Tomato or No.1 Jack Hawkins)
- 5 salad onions
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 unwaxed lemon, zest and 2 tbsp juice
Method
Cook the bulgur wheat according to pack instructions (or see the cook's tip). Fluff it with a fork to separate the grains, then set aside to cool to room temperature.
Using a sharp knife, finely chop the parsley and mint (or use a food processor if speed is of the essence) – the finer the better. Place into a large serving bowl.
Cut the cucumber in ½ lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Halve and deseed the tomato. Finely dice the flesh of both, and the salad onions. Add to the herbs in the serving bowl, then add the cooled bulgur.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon zest and juice and seasoning to create the dressing. Pour it over the prepared salad and toss gently to combine. Taste and add more seasoning if needed, then serve immediately or decant into a container for a picnic or barbecue. This salad will keep covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Cook’s tip
Add your own toppings
Pimp up this salad by serving with crumbled aged feta, pops of pomegranate seeds or chargrilled chicken pieces.
Deseed or not?
Removing the seeds from the cucumber and tomato may seem an unnecessary step, but if you skip it, the resulting salad will be wet and won’t keep as well. It’s worth the extra effort.
Nutritional
Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe
Energy | 943kJ/ 227kcals |
|---|---|
Fat | 14g |
Saturated Fat | 2g |
Carbohydrates | 18g |
Sugars | 5g |
Fibre | 6g |
Protein | 4.5g |
Salt | 0.9g |