Cooking with Kitten: Tabouli

Here's a recipe for tabouli, which comes from The Moosewood Cookbook, my all time fave. I made it this afternoon and it involves a lot of wait time, but the results are worth it! There is so much flavor going on. I savored every bite.

But enough blab from me. Let's get to the good stuff.

Tabouli

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
1 1/2 cups boiling water (I just put the tea kettle on, and have a cup of tea while the bulgur soaks)
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (the juice of 2 lemons)
2 medium cloves garlic, crushed
black pepper, to taste
4 scallions, finely minced (whites and greens)
1 packed cup minced parsley
10 to 15 mint leaves, minced (or 1 to 2 tablespoons dried mint)
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, diced
OPTIONAL:
1/2 cup cooked chick peas
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 small cucumber, seeded and minced

NOTE: Mollie Katzen advises that you throw the scallions, parsley, and mint into a food processor and let it go. That's what I did, and it made life easier. The salad looks better this way too.
And I added all of the optional ingredients to boost the veggie and protein content.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine bulgur and boiling water in a medium-large bowl. Cover and let stand until the bulgur is tender (20 to 30 minutes, minimum).

2. Add salt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and black pepper, and mix thoroughly. Cover tightly and refrigerate until about 30 minutes until serving.

3. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in remaining ingredients (including the optional ones) and mix well. Serve cold with warm wedges of lightly toasted pita bread. You can also serve it inside the pita bread.

NOTE: Mollie says you can prepare steps one and two "as much as a day or two in advance."

I need to add that this recipe was taken from The New Moosewood Cookbook, and not the original. The original one may have had a different tabouli recipe, but it still remains a mighty tasty dish, perfect for summer.

This recipe has officially become one of my Moosewood Mainstays!