Loving These Halal Vegan Recipes
You know tabbouleh is so simple to make and I love recipes in their simplest form. I want to bring awareness to this healthy and wonderful dish which is prepared throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa because I always see it being sold in grocery stores appearing less than fresh, so there's obviously a demand for it. Fresh is Best!
The ingredients are minimal: olive oil, flat leaf parsley, tomato, green onion, cucumber, lemon and bulgur (which contains gluten). If you have Celiac's disease or are avoiding gluten then you can replace Bulgur with Quinoa.
Bulgar is an ancient staple food made from whole grain wheat (you gotta look hard to find it) commonly confused with couscous here in the US; and you can find different variations ranging from fine to extra coarse (I like to use fine for tabbouleh). This isn't the typical wheat we think of that's sold in stores and processed as bread loaves and pasta. This wheat is densely nutritious because it wasn't stripped of its bran or germ (the good stuff). It's high in fiber promoting heart health, improves digestion, is low on the glycemic index (giving people living with diabetes a healthier option) and can potentially help with weight loss because it makes you feel full longer. If you have gout or kidney stones then you should limit your consumption of bulgur because it increases oxalates which can increase the amount of calcium that the body releases into the urine.
Last but not least is that it takes no time to cook. All you have to do is pour some water over it. Let it sit for about 10 mins, remove the water and fluff it with a fork et voila! It's great paired with hummus as or even as a side salad with your meal.
Note: If you're shopping for bulgur in the US make sure it isn't labeled "enriched" because that means the wheat was processed and synthetic nutrients were added back into it.
Ingredients (2 servings)
3 tsp fine whole wheat bulgur
1/4 cup of hot water
3 tsp green onion (chopped)
2 cups flat leaf parsley (chopped small)
1 small cucumber (chopped small)
1 tomato (chopped small)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon (squeezed) to taste
salt and pepper to taste
romaine lettuce heart (separated, washed and dried) for serving
Preparation
Place bulgur in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let it sit for about 15 minutes until soft. Drain with sieve. Transfer bulgur to a larger bowl and toss with remaining ingredients: green onions, parsley, cucumber and tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze lemon over it to your taste. Toss again and taste. Serve with romaine lettuce leaves or as I used hummus and pita bread.
