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.
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.
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!).
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:
- 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.
- Chop the parsley and leek and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Drain the tomatoes; chop finely and add to the bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.
- Add the dressing to the salad; mix well. Let stand about 30 minutes before eating, if possible to wait that long.
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