Somehow, I found myself with lots of parsley this week. I had purchased more than I needed for cooking, and then I got a huge bunch in my CSA selection. When life gives you parsley, make tabbouleh!
Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern dish, made from bulgur wheat, with copious amounts of parsley and fresh mint, tomato and cucumber.
Of course, I can never leave well enough alone, and had to make a classic dish my own. I also didn’t have any bulgur available, so couscous seemed close enough to get the point across. Substituting Israeli couscous (a much larger “grain” than regular couscous) gave the dish a whole new texture. And since Israel is in the right geographical vicinity, I thought, why not?
Tabbouleh
Boil stock or water in a pan and add the Israeli couscous. Turn off the heat, cover it, and allow the liquid to absorb for about 5 minutes or so. Toss with a fork and place it in a large bowl. As a rule of thumb, use twice the amount of liquid as dried couscous.
Chop 1 bunch of parsley leaves, and one bunch of fresh mint leaves. Mix into the couscous. Add the juice of 2 or 3 lemons, and a healthy dose of olive oil.
Mix in 1 cucumber that has been seeded and chopped into bite sized pieces. Add in several diced tomatoes. A diced scallion or two is optional. (I hate them, so I didn’t use any, but that’s what makes an “unrecipe” so much fun! )
Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Mix well, and allow the flavors to mingle for a while before serving. This is a great make-ahead dish, as the longer it sits, the more the flavors blend.
Check the seasonings before serving and enjoy!
Tags: Food, vegetarian
September 25, 2012 at 1:18 am |
This looks SO delicious! I love Israeli couscous 🙂
Come and add this link to the party too…http://inherchucks.com/2012/09/19/whats-in-the-box-44/. Looking forward to seeing you there!