Tabouli de Gregorio

I'm a big big fan of tabouli as a salad and as a condiment for other things.  The other night I started with a recipe from Great Party Recipes and tweaked it for my own preferences.

Tabouli

• 1 1/2 cups cracked wheat (bulgur)
• 1 1/2 cups very hot salted water 
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, (8) sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
• 2 cups fresh chopped parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Dressing

• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Soak the cracked wheat in the hot salted water until it is al dente, it should basically absorb most of the water (~30 minutes).   Drain any excess water and squeeze dry.  Set aside to chill.

Prepare the herbs and vegetables in one bowl, and Dressing in another. My preference was to make this a little less minty than the source recipe, and the dressing is more tart ( personal preference).  I also whiz the dressing with my immersion blender.

Stir everything together in a bowl and serve, either chilled or at room temperature.

A number of people prefer rinsed the bulgur wheat, instead of the cracked wheat; it has a different texture, I'm fine either way. Next time I'm going to try adding a minced and seeded jalapeño to the mix for a little extra kick.


More Later....
G