Tabouleh with a twist (Healthy Recipes)

Member Name: clara29

Product:	Healthy Recipes
Date:	27/06/09 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: packed with vitamins and minerals its a healthy & easy to make salad

Disadvantages: its not the "traditional recipe" for tabouleh purists :)

Growing up in my family, there was never bread in the middle of a dinner table but always a gigantic bowl of some sort of salad. Its formed a habit with me now (happily a healthy one for a change!) and I have salad with every single meal - literally everything. I get called weird when I have pie and salad, or chinese and salad which I can understand but I just like that freshness to balance everything out.

One of my favourite types is the traditional middle eastern Tabouleh. Originating from Arab lands (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan) it is now popular the world over and can be found in certain supermarkets and delis. It is often included as part of a mezze in restaurants.

I have eaten many different variations of this but decided to come up with my own twist because I am a massive fusspot and really hate the inclusion of certain ingredients in ready bought tubs of Tabouleh. Plus its so easy and cheap to make, why buy it?

So here it is, my "Tabouleh with a Twist":

Bulgar Wheat (about half a packet)
Bunch of mint
Bunch of parsley
Juice of a lemon
grated rind of a lemon
Olive oil
Salt
Red, yellow or orange pepper - deseeded.

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Preheat the oven to highest heat, once hot place the pepper (cut into quarters) with some olive oil onto a baking tray and roast in oven until pepper is soft )but not burnt). Remove from oven and chop.

Rinse the bulgar wheat in a sieve under the cold tap
Boil a large saucepan of water, add salt and add the bulgar wheat
Boil until the bulgar is soft but has a little texture to it (maybe about 10-15 mins)
Drain thoroughly and place into a large bowl

Add the chopped roasted pepper, finely chopped mint and parsley (I use quite a bit of these herbs). Stir through.

In a separate bowl mix the juice of a small lemon, the grated rind, a good old slug of olive oil and a little salt. Mix and pour over the tabouleh and stir it through.

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Tabouleh traditionally includes onions which you can of course add I just dont like them. Also the roasted peppers are optional.

I know I have been a bit lax with quantities of say olive oil, but just taste it and see if it needs a little more of something - that's pretty much how I do it!

I actually prefer this dish served at room temperature rather than from the fridge - the flavours stand out more and the bulgar wheat tastes better to me.

Finally if you wanted to vary this, you can use wild rice for a rice salad dish which is equally as tasty, its just bulgar wheat is very good for you as it contains more fibre, vitamins and has a lower G.I than say rice or couscous.

Goes particularly well with fish, chargrilled or roasted meats, grilled Halloumi cheese or just on its own!

Summary: Healthy, cheap and easy tabouleh recipe