Tabouleh

Tabouleh is a fresh, easy salad that is perfect for a snack or as a side. I like to have it for lunch when I want something tasty but not too heavy. There are many versions to this recipe. I don't claim that this one is at all traditional, but rather it's pretty much thrown together in the proportions that I like. I think my version has a bigger bulgur to parsley ratio than usual. Also, a lot of these ingredients are not measured out very well because I eyeball them (sorry!). The nice thing about tabouleh is that you can fiddle with the proportions (and even the ingredients somewhat) until you find the combination that you like best. I have also read that mint leaves should be added, but I've never tried it with mint - maybe one day soon!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of bulgur wheat
• 2 cups of boiling water
• 1 medium bunch of curly parsley
• 1 pint of ripe grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 an English cucumber, peeled
• Juice of 1or 2 large lemons (depending on how lemony you like your salad)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put the cup of bulgur wheat in a pot and pour the boiling water over top of it. Place the lid on the pot and let the bulgur sit for about half an hour to soak up the water. Drain any remaining water.

Discard the parsley stems and chop the parsley up very finely. If you have a food processor, using that will save you a ton of time! Dice up the tomatoes and cucumbers. I like using cherry or grape tomatoes because I find they are more flavourful this time of year than the regular tomatoes that I can get in the grocery stores, and I usually use English cucumbers because I like the texture of them a bit better than field cucumbers.

Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl and add the lemon juice and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour or two to let the flavours come together. Mix well before serving.

***

***