Tabbouleh is a refreshing, healthy salad with the main ingredient being parsley and burghul. It’s a great salad to serve at BBQ’s and with hummus and Lebanese bread.
The weather is warming up and our bodies crave light, fresh salads. So today I wanted to share with you my Tabbouleh recipe.
Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern salad. It’s become a very popular around the world, traditionally made with burghul (cracked wheat), parsley, mint, lemon juice, oil, etc. However, because of my wheat intolerance I decided to try making it with cracked spelt instead!
Guess what? It tasted just as great as the original!
Tabbouleh is a refreshing light salad packed with healthy ingredients. It’s scattered with diced tomato, chopped mint and simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. The main ingredient is parsley which has a lot of nutritional value. It’s rich in many vitamins such as vitamin K, A and C, rich in antioxidants, supports bone health because of the vitamin K, high in nutrients that protect your eyes, its low in calories yet packed with flavour.
I usually use the flat leaf Italian parlsey in my kitchen but you can also find the French curly parsley.
So let’s take a closer look at the ingredients in this wonderful healthy salad.
INGREDIENTS
PARSLEY: The traditional recipe uses a ton of parsley. Like I said it’s the main ingredient. That’s why it has such a deep green colour! I prefer to use the Italian flat leaf parsley. It has such a deep flavour and aroma.
CRACKED SPELT: Once cooked it’s soft and fluffy. It’s simple to prepare and all it needs is soaking in a bowl full of boiling water. Please read the instructions on the packet as yours may be different.
FRESH MINT: The mint adds extra freshness to the flavour of the salad. This is where your little herb garden comes in handy!
ONION: I think you can use which ever you have on hand. I’ve used both the yellow and purple variety. If you prefer a milder flavour then try adding shallots (spring onions) instead.
TOMATO: The tomato adds colour and texture to the salad. It’s best to use round ripe tomatoes and ensure that it is peeled and seeded before dicing it. In today’s recipe, I had small cherry tomatoes on hand so I used these. In this case I didn’t peel them as they’re so tiny. However, believe me, the salad tastes even better when you use peeled tomatoes.
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL & LEMON JUICE: Tabbouleh is simply dressed with a combination of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Super healthy combo!
CHILLI POWDER: A pinch is used to give it a little kick!
HOW TO PEEL A TOMATO
The easiest and fastest way is to use a Victorinox Swiss Army Peeler. You can purchase it on Amazon or through a well equipped kitchen utensil store. The main difference between this peeler and a normal potato peeler is that it has a serrated edge. This facilitates peeling thin skinned produce like tomatoes, peppers, etc.
If you don’t have this type of peeler, which I strongly suggest you do get one, take the tomato, cut a cross on the bottom of the it with a sharp knife. Don’t cut it too deep. Place the tomato in a bowl of very hot water. Leave it sit for about 5 minutes or until you see that the skin has softened and starts to lift easily. Carefully take it out of the bowl without burning your fingers, and delicately peel the skin away. When they have cooled, cut in half and scoop out the seeds.
Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a comment below, share it, rate it or tag a picture on Instagram @yummyalternatives and hashtag it #yummyalternatives. I’d really love to see what you make
If you’re looking for other salad ideas, why not check out this Chicken Salad with Herbs.
Tabbouleh is a refreshing, healthy salad with the main ingredient being parsley and burghul. It’s a great salad to serve at BBQ’s and with hummus and Lebanese bread. This recipe is dairy and wheat free - made with cracked spelt! Place the cracked spelt in a bowl, cover with boiling water and stand for 15 minutes or as directed on your packet Drain off the water, rinse under cold running water in a tight knit colander. Dry well on absorbent paper or clean tea towel Place the cracked spelt in a bowl, together with the chopped parsley, finely chopped shallots, peeled and finely chopped onion, peeled, seeded and finely diced tomatoes*, chilli powder, mint, oil and lemon juice. Season with salt Best to refrigerate before serving to enhance the flavours. The flavour of this salad is even better if made the day before it’s served as the ingredients have had a chance to amalgamate. See above instructions on how to peel and seed a tomato.
In today’s recipe, I had small cherry tomatoes on hand so I used these. In this case I didn’t peel them as they’re so tiny.
Tabbouleh
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
