For years I was a tabbouleh purist. I grew up with a Syrian mom, we ate tabouli every week. And it was four ingredients – chopped parsley, chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions and softened bulgur – dressed with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. That was it.
But, I’ve come to appreciate tabouli as a way to enjoy all kinds of greens. And when faced with a huge mound of beautiful greens as in this week’s box, I’m glad to have a way to reduce some of that volume in a delicious way.
This recipe is adapted from one on the Food52 blog. No parsley? No cucumber? Don’t let that stop you. They used quinoa – I’d still just make it with softened bulgur (cracked wheat). Bulgur requires no cooking – much friendlier in the kitchen on these steamy days.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup quinoa 1 bunch curly parsley (or 2 if the bunch is small) 1 bunch kale, stems removed 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise 2 Persian cucumbers or 1/2 English cucumber, diced 1 small onion, finely diced 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil Salt to taste
Preparation:
Cook the quinoa as directed, then set aside to cool.
Wash the parsley and gather it back into a bunch. Starting at the leafy top, cut perpendicular to the stems in 1/2- or 1/4-inch cuts until you reach the point where there’s nothing left but stems. Discard the stems. You will have a large, fluffy pile of parsley on your cutting board. There will be some stems in there too, but it’s ok.
Chop the parsley and kale with a knife or cleaver until the pieces are no larger than 1/4 inch. It should be pretty fine, but you don’t want it to turn into a paste. Quite frankly – I just do this in the food processor, pulsing to make sure I don’t over chop the greens.
Move your greens to a large mixing bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Mix well. The salad can be eaten right away, or kept in the fridge for up to three days. If you make it in advance, toss the salad again before serving to redistribute the juices.