How to Make the Perfect Tabbouleh Mediterranean Salad: Tabbouleh is almost certainly the most well-known salad that originates from the Middle East or the Mediterranean. I feel compelled to dispel one thing because it is now sold in most large supermarkets around the world: the “star of the show,” so to speak, in a tabouli recipe is not the bulgur.
This is something that I feel compelled to dispel. It is recommended that you consume some bulgur along with your salad rather than some salad along with your bulgur.
What are the ingredients in Tabbouleh salad?
The Tabbouleh recipe’s most important ingredient is very finely chopped parsley, and there should be a lot of it. Because parsley holds up well against the citrus in the dressing, tabouli tastes even better after it has been refrigerated overnight.
Some Tabbouleh recipes, such as the one I’m using here, call for a few fresh mint leaves and green onions, while others call only for parsley and red onions. This recipe is the one that comes the closest to the one I had while I was growing up, but feel free to make it your own!
Important notes and suggestions for making this Tabbouleh salad:
- For this particular recipe for Tabbouleh , I suggest using extra fine bulgur. Before being added to the salad, extra fine bulgur does not require soaking in hot water nor does it require a significant amount of time. If you end up using coarse or extra coarse bulgur, then you will need to soak it in hot water for about half an hour at the very least. The hotter the water, the better.
- You will need to chop the vegetables as finely as you can get them in order to get the texture of the Tabbouleh just right. Is a food processor a suitable alternative for chopping the Tabbouleh ingredients? You can use it if you like to chop the parsley, but I would recommend that you use a sharp knife to chop the tomatoes, green onions, and other ingredients in the dish.
- Make sure to use tomatoes that are nice and ripe. After being chopped, the tomatoes should be placed in a colander to drain any excess juice.
- Cucumbers are not typically included in Tabbouleh’s ingredient list. This is my own spin on it, and I really enjoy the additional crunch that it adds. I use English Cucumbers, which are also sometimes referred to as hothouse cucumbers. These cucumbers are long, have thin skin, and are typically seedless. If you decide to use the more common American cucumbers, make sure to remove the skin, cut the cucumber in half, remove most of the seeds, and then proceed to chop the cucumber. If you choose to use European cucumbers, there is no need to remove the skin.
- No dressing other than a drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil and a splash of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice. We recommend our Early Harvest olive oil. The Kotsovolas family of Christianoupolis, Greece is the proprietors of the estate that produces this exquisite extra virgin olive oil from Greek olives. Koroneiki olive oil that has been grown and processed organically, has been hand-picked, and the resulting oil has an extremely low acidity level (0.35%). Here you can find out more information about our Early Harvest olive oil.
- To get the best results from the Tabbouleh , cover it and place it in the refrigerator for half an hour. Place on a platter intended for serving. You can serve the tabouli with pita bread and romaine lettuce leaves on the side. These can be used as wraps or “boats” to hold the Tabbouleh .
How to Complement Tabbouleh with Other Dishes
If you’re serving grilled kabobs or shawarmas, for example, Tabbouleh is an excellent and cheery side dish to put next to them on the table. However, it can also be served as a small plate alongside other appetizers such as creamy hummus, falafel, Turkish-style fried eggplant, and spicy Middle Eastern potatoes as part of a traditional mezze spread.