Tabbouleh (Lebanese Parsley & Bulgur Salad)
تبولہ (لبنانی پارسلے اور بلغور کا سلاد)
Real Lebanese tabbouleh is a green salad, not a grain salad. It's mostly finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, with mint, tomato and spring onion, just a spoonful of fine bulgur, and a sharp dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. Fresh, tangy and vivid green, it's the classic partner to grilled meat and rich dips. The only real work is the chopping; a sharp knife and dry herbs make it quick.
- ⏱ Total: 25 min
- Prep: 25 min
- Easy
- Serves 4
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Rinse the bulgur and soak it in the lemon juice for 15 minutes while you chop.
Wash the parsley and mint and dry them completely. Pick off the thick stems and chop the leaves very finely with a sharp knife, bunching them tightly.
Combine the herbs, tomatoes, spring onions and the bulgur with its lemon juice. Dress with olive oil, salt and pepper just before serving.
Serve right away, with lettuce leaves to scoop it up.
Kitchen notes
The herbs must be completely dry before chopping, or they'll bruise and turn mushy.
Use a very sharp knife rather than a food processor, which bruises parsley.
Dress just before serving; tabbouleh wilts once salted.
A herb salad
Outside the Levant, tabbouleh is often made as a grain salad with a little parsley. In Lebanon and Syria it’s the other way around: a vivid green heap of finely chopped parsley with a few grains of bulgur, tomato and mint. It’s one of the most popular mezze and appears at almost every meal with grilled meat.
The chop
The skill of tabbouleh is in the knife work. The parsley is gathered into tight bunches and sliced very finely, not chopped back and forth, so it stays fresh and fluffy rather than bruised. Dry herbs and a sharp knife are essential.
Lemon and oil
Plenty of lemon juice, soaked into the bulgur, gives tabbouleh its bright tang. Good olive oil goes on at the last minute along with salt, so the salad stays crisp.
Serving
Serve with grilled kafta or shish tawook, alongside hummus and mutabbal. Compare it with Turkish kısır, a bulgur-heavy cousin.
Questions people ask
Why so little bulgur?
In Lebanon tabbouleh is a herb salad; the bulgur is only a light accent. Recipes outside the region often use far more.
Can I use coriander instead of parsley?
It won't be tabbouleh, but a coriander-mint version makes a tasty South Asian-style herb salad.
Is it gluten-free?
No, bulgur is wheat. Use quinoa or leave the grain out for a gluten-free version.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 170
- Protein
- 3 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 11 g
