Homemade Winter Tabbouleh Salad

Yesterday I opened the fridge in search of lunch. Lacking leftovers or anything that could be quickly transformed into a meal, I pulled open to the produce drawer for inspiration. Peeking out from under a rotting zucchini was a sad looking bunch of parsley, droopy enough that I couldn’t resist taking it under my wing and salvaging it from certain decay.

Fresh Parsley

I can’t remember why I bought it in the first place, but there’s only one way I know to use up a whole bunch of parsley in one shot: tabbouleh salad.

I know it’s a summertime recipe (and right now the view out my window looks like this) but I’m craving bright sunny flavours. Lemon. Fresh veggies. Tomatoes.

Winter View From My Window20131211_123216

Usually I make this salad in the height of the season with fresh tomatoes from the garden. Then I scoop it up on just-picked cucumber slices. Today I’m going to improvise and make winter tabbouleh: bulgar wheat (though you could also use quinoa), frozen Italian tomatoes (always risky) and a leftover leek instead of green onions. I will also add chickpeas to make this salad a meal, and that means I don’t have to cook anything else to go with it (woot!).

Ingredients for Tabbouleh Salad

Winter tabbouleh salad recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
  • 1 cup frozen Italian (Roma) tomatoes, defrosted (not heated)* OR 1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes (if available), quartered
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley
  • White part of 1 leek
  • 1 (19 ounce) can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed (optional)

*Don’t use regular frozen beefsteak/hot house tomatoes here. They’ll just be mushy.

Dressing ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Generous salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:

  1. Make the bulgur: bring 2 cups water to boil on the stove; stir in bulgur. Bring to the boil again; turn off heat and let stand, covered, for 20 minutes.
  2. Chop the parsley and leek and place in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Drain the tomatoes; chop finely and add to the bowl.
  4. In a small bowl, mix oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.
  5. Add the dressing to the salad; mix well. Let stand about 30 minutes before eating, if possible to wait that long.

Winter Tabbouleh Salad Recipe from ANaturalDisaster.ca

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