Ta-boo-YAH

 

What better way to refresh the palate than with a cool, delicious salad? Tabbouleh is an amazingly simple mixture that is still powerful and tasty. It's important to use fresh ingredients, like always. The dish originates from Lebanon and Syria. 

The ingredients I used in my tabbouleh salad were: parsley, mint, cilantro, tomato, onion, lemon, garlic, bulgur, olive oil, salt and paper.

To start off, make sure to have cutting board, a large bowl and a sharp knife. Also, set up a pot with boiling water.

You're going to put a cup of bulgur into that pot. Bulgur is a "cereal food made from the groats of several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat." I had never heard of this stuff before buying it at the grocery specifically for this salad. It's rather plain, but, oh well, I'll stick to the traditional recipe. The bulgur will cook for about 12 minutes. Continually mix the pot and occasionally take some out to test its taste and toughness. You want it to be soft, almost so there's no need to chew it. 

In the mean time, grab 2 bushels of parsley and mint, and 1 bunch of cilantro. With the addition of cilantro you can throw away the "traditional recipe" label I gave this earlier, but it's a nice fresh touch that makes the dish better. Anyway, chop up the greens until they're very fine. Remove stems as well. 

Then, cut 2 ripe tomatoes into compartments. Take away any unnecessary juices and then chop the slices into smaller pieces. Take half an onion and chop it up into similar sized pieces. Add in 1 clove of chopped garlic. 

Then, drizzle in the juice of 2 lemons. Also, pour in a tbsp. of olive oil. At this point, all of your veggies are taken care of. 

Take your bulgur and, after draining it in a colander, add it to the mixture. 

Finally, and most importantly, let the tabbouleh sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving, so all the flavors can congeal. 

Bring it out in a large bowl and let all of your eaters dig in!