Lebanese Tabouli Recipe

The Lebanese Tabouli recipe is an extremely healthy (thanks to parsley) and a delicious Mediterranean food recipe that is a departure from normal salad recipes; it is a vegetarian meal by itself.

Tabouli is prepared with cracked wheat (Bulgur, bulghur or burghul), tomatoes, green onions, olive oil, mint and lemon. The Lebanese Tabouli (also spelled Tabboule, Tabbouleh or Tabule) is a healthy appetizer that is famous and very rarely would it be missed from the Lebanese buffet.

It is usually consumed during hot summer days and Lebanese people like to eat Tabouli with crisp hearts of Romanian lettuce (used as a natural scooper), others use cabbage instead. It's so refreshing and there is no limitation as to when to eat it.

Ingredients for Lebanese Tabouli:

• 3 large bunches flat leaf parsley
• ½ bunch of fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons fine bulgur
• 1/3 Kilogram (12 ounces) of tomatoes
• 2-3 Small green onions
• ¾ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon peeled lemon skin
• ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice to taste
• Dash of salt and black pepper powder to taste

Method for Preparing Lebanese Tabouli:

• Align the parsley leafs to one side then cut and throw away the trunks.
• Chop the parsley leafs to an extremely fine degree and set aside.
• Wash the finely chopped parsley with water and stir around to remove the invisible sand.
• Use your hand to scoop the parsley leafs from the water and squeeze to drain.
• Use a fine fly screen type to scoop the remaining parsley. Sand will settle at the bottom.
• Similarly chop, wash and drain the mint leafs then add on top of the chopped parsley.
• Cut the green onion to the smallest possible rings.
• Chop the tomatoes to cubes (similar in size to the green onions).
• Squeeze the fresh lemon.
• Wash the fine Bulgur then soak in warm water for about 2 minutes.
• Drain the Bulgur excess water and squeeze to dry.
• Add salt, black pepper, lemon juice, peeled lemon skin and olive oil then mix the ingredients together.

Cook's Notes:

1. 
   
   You may use white onion with or instead of green onion.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Green onions should be the size of a pinkie.
   
   
   
3. 
   
   You should serve and consume the Tabouli appetizer within 1 hour after preparing otherwise tomatoes' vitamins will be gone.
   
   
   
4. 
   
   The Lebanese Tabouli is by far the only salad recipe that consumes parsley with such a quantity. Parsley is an extremely important vegetable that is consumed the least in all food recipes.
   
   
   
5. 
   
   There are many deviations from the above method and ingredients claiming to be authentic, unfortunately that is an incorrect statement.
   
   
   

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) of raw Parsley. Source: USDA Nutrient database. Energy 40 kcal 150 kJ
Carbohydrates	6.3 g
- Sugars	0.9 g
- Dietary fiber	3.3 g
Fat	0.8 g
Protein	3.0 g
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.1 mg	8%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.2 mg	13%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 1.3 mg	9%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.4 mg	8%
Vitamin B6 0.1 mg	8%
Folate (Vit. B9) 152 μg	38%
Vitamin C 133.0 mg	222%
Vitamin K 1640.0 μg	1562%
Calcium 138.0 mg	14%
Iron 6.2 mg	50%
Magnesium 50.0 mg	14%
Phosphorus 58.0 mg	8%
Potassium 554 mg	12%
Zinc 1.1 mg	11%

Please don't hesitate to ask any question and do let others know what you think about this Lebanese Tabouli recipe in the comments below.