Organic Recipe Friday: Tabbouleh

Not Your Mother’s Tabbouleh

On summer nights, the mere thought of firing up the oven or standing over the stove with a stir-fry can make you start sweating. But how do you eat raw vegetables for months without dying of boredom? By incorporating a couple of pantry items and remembering that “salads” aren’t just the great-looking leafy greens and colorful vegetables you picked up at the farmers’ market. Varying your meals with a can of beans or a grain you can cook while busying yourself in another room will keep you cool, expand your menu, and make your summer salads more nutritious.

Some of my favorite pantry items that appear in summer are bulgur, quinoa and wheatberries. For bulgur, you only need enough heat to bring a small amount of water to a boil. Quinoa (technically a fruit, not a grain, but you cook it like rice) takes just 15 minutes, and is a great protein source. Wheatberries cook for about an hour but the reward is a great chewy texture, which contrasts well with crunchy vegetables. And using canned black beans and garbanzo beans? Couldn’t be simpler.

A classes example of grain plus vegetables plus herbs is tabbouleh—bulgur, cucumber, parsley, mint, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil—but when I have more vegetables and basil on hand, I like to keep tabbouleh in the back of my mind and start chopping.

Newfangled Tabbouleh

Serves 5-6

• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1 carrot, small dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes (sungold, chocolate cherry or another flavorful variety, if available), halved
• 3 T basil, chopped
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 T olive oil
• 3 T lemon juice
• 1 t lemon zest
• 3-4 ounces feta, crumbled (optional)
• 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed (optional)
• Black pepper

Bring water to boil in a small pot. Remove from heat, stir in bulgur, cover and let soak for 15 minutes. Let cool.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. It will be tastier if you allow flavors to combine over a couple of hours. Serve cold or at room temperature, over a bed of salad greens.

Photo Credit: Flickr User (and author) bornOKthefirsttime