TABBOULEH

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Tabbouleh is a signature Levantine salad from the Eastern Mediterranean that puts parsley front and center, along with bulgur, tomatoes, and onion, all steeped in a penetrating mint and lemon dressing. We started by salting the tomatoes to rid them of excess moisture that otherwise would have made our salad soggy. Soaking the bulgur in lemon juice and some of the drained tomato liquid, rather than in water, allowed it to absorb lots of flavor as it softened. Chopped onion overwhelmed the salad, but a couple of mild scallions added just the right amount of oniony flavor. Fresh mint and a bit of cayenne pepper rounded out the dish. Adding the herbs and vegetables while the bulgur was still soaking gave the components time to mingle, resulting in a cohesive dish. Don’t confuse bulgur with cracked wheat, which has a much longer cooking time and will not work in this recipe.

Serves: 4 to 6

Total time: 40 minutes (plus 1 hour resting time)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tomatoes, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup medium-grind bulgur, rinsed
• ¼ cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1½ cups minced fresh parsley
• ½ cup minced fresh mint
• 2 scallions, sliced thin

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Toss tomatoes with ¼ teaspoon salt in fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and let drain, tossing occasionally, for 30 minutes; reserve 2 tablespoons drained tomato juice. Toss bulgur with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and reserved tomato juice in bowl and let sit until grains begin to soften, 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice, oil, cayenne, and ¼ teaspoon salt together in large serving bowl. Add tomatoes, bulgur, parsley, mint, and scallions and toss gently to combine. Cover and let sit at room temperature until flavors have blended and bulgur is tender, about 1 hour. Toss salad to recombine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

VARIATION:

SPICED TABBOULEH: 

• Add ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice to
  dressing with cayenne.