Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a herb salad with bulgur in it, not a bulgur salad with herbs. Get that ratio right and the rest is chopping: two bunches of parsley, one of mint, and just a cup of fine bulgur softened in hot water.

The bulgur here is a binder, not the base. It goes in to give the salad body and to soak up the lemon and olive oil, while the parsley carries the flavor and the color. That is the single thing most versions get wrong, and it is also what separates tabbouleh from kısır, its Turkish cousin, where bulgur is the base and the dressing is built on pepper paste.

Use fine bulgur. It softens completely in hot water with no stove involved, and it stays distinct in the bowl instead of turning to paste under the dressing.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 cup fine bulgur
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 bunches parsley, finely chopped
• 1 bunch mint, finely chopped
• 1 Persian cucumber, or half an English cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 4 whole scallions, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1/4 to 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

1. Put the bulgur in a bowl and add 1 cup of boiling hot water. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork.
2. Add the cucumber, parsley, mint, scallions, and tomatoes to the bulgur.
3. Add the lemon juice and zest, the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Mix well, taste, and adjust the seasoning and olive oil as needed.

Notes

Dry the parsley thoroughly after washing it. Wet herbs dilute the dressing and turn the salad slack within the hour. A salad spinner or a clean towel and a few minutes of air both work.

The olive oil range is wide on purpose. A quarter cup gives a lean, sharp salad that tastes mostly of lemon and herbs; approaching a cup gives the rich, oil-slicked version served in Levantine restaurants. Start at a quarter cup, mix, taste, and add from there.

Chop the parsley by hand with a sharp knife rather than in a food processor. A processor bruises the leaves and pushes out water, which is how tabbouleh ends up dark and wet instead of bright and loose.

Keep Reading

What is kısır? The Turkish salad tabbouleh is most often confused with, and how the two actually differ. And bulgur pilav, the hot dish that uses the coarse grind instead.