I know many of you are enjoying the first wisps of fall. You’re hunkering down with a warm bowl of soup and your favorite over-sized sweater, but I’m in South Florida and the mercury is still hovering in the upper 80s here. On the weekends, when Scott is manning the grill and the pool beckons, I’d rather not spend the day tied to a stove, so I usually opt for something quick, easy and light, like Inauthentic Tabbouleh.
It’s inauthentic because real tabbouleh is so chock full of herbs that there’s barely room for the cracked wheat – and frankly authentic tabbouleh to me, is more like eating grass than salad.
Plus a real tabbouleh doesn’t have tasty things like crunchy cucumbers or briny kalamata olives and chunks of salty feta cheese.
I know – it’s not the real thing, but that’s the way I like it!
The best part about this tabbouleh, authentic or not, is that the only actual cooking, is boiling the water for the cracked wheat. Seriously.
Pour the boiling water over the bulgur wheat and cover with plastic wrap for about 15 minutes, or until it’s tender. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any excess water and cool the wheat to room temperature.
While it’s cooling, make the dressing and chop up the veg and feta.
A bright, lemony vinaigrette (which takes about 5 minutes to make) is an easy way to amp up the flavors in this salad. That and fresh herbs. I use parsley, fresh mint and basil – but not as much as you’d normally find in a tabbouleh salad, about 1/3 cup each.
Serve this chilled or at room temperature – it goes great with grilled seafood, chicken, pork or lamb!
Traditional tabbouleh is primarily finely minced herbs with a little grain. I like it with chunks of veg and a lemony dressing. Hope you do too!
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 lemon zested
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup bulgur wheat medium grind
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 lemon juiced, use the same lemon used for the dressing
- 1/2 English cucumber sliced vertically and cut into thin half moons
- 5-6 Campari tomatoes can use halved grape tomatoes or chopped roma, cut into bite sized wedges
- 4 ounces feta cheese cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives seeded and roughly chopped
- 3 green onions white and green parts, sliced thinly
- 1/3 cup parsley chopped fresh
- 1/3 cup basil chopped fresh
- 1/3 cup mint chopped fresh
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In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic, dijon, vinegar, lemon zest, salt, pepper and olive oil. Whisk to emulsify and set aside.
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Bring the water to a boil. Place the dry bulgur wheat into a bowl. When the water boils pour it over the bulgur and cover with saran wrap. Set aside for 15 minutes to absorb the water.
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Pour the bulgur into a fine mesh sieve and set over the bowl to drain any excess water for 5 minutes. Transfer the bulgur to a large mixing bowl and add the lemon juice. Toss to combine.
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Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives, green onions, parsley, basil and mint. Add the dressing and toss until well combined. Can be eaten immediately, but the flavors will come together more if it has an hour for two to rest. Can be eaten chilled or at room temperature.
More Whole Grain Salads & Sides:
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- Mandarin Quinoa and Kale Bowls
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- Farro with Pomegranate and Apples
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- Tangy Italian Black Rice Salad
Scrumptious! Lisa, I love everything about this very creative couscous salad. Thanks.
It’s actually cracked wheat – not couscous – but I’ll bet it would be great with couscous too!
I saw this on Facebook and had to check out what was so “inauthentic”. Well, I guess my version is too! Bring on the veggies!
LOL – I included a link to an authentic tabbouleh — so if you want to compare, the difference is pretty dramatic, to me at least.
Lisa I think I like your inauthentic version over the authentic one any day of the week. I like the crunch and I could do with the less ‘grass’ like herbs too! Lovely pictures, as always! 🙂
Thank you, Tina! I’m glad you approve of the edits I made. I love this because it’s so simple to throw together and goes with just about any protein!
I love this It’s a Greek salad tabbouleh! Cracked wheat is one of my favourite grains so I’ll be making this.
Yes – that’s exactly what it is! Now you tell me!
Lucky you. Here in Croatia temperature is dropping like crazy. I love fall but I don’t like cold weather brrr 😀 I LOVE love loveee bulgur!!! I use it for making sides, salads, I even put it in soups. What can I say, I’m in love with bulgurs nutty taste. Lisa, this salad looks delicious. I come from Mediterranean country so olive oil, olives, and feta cheese are running through my veins 🙂 Sharing of course 😉
I guess we all want what we don’t have! I wouldn’t mind a few chilly days here! Thank you for sharing!
This is perfect! I’m making this for a pot-luck dinner! Thank you so much! Love your pictures!
Thanks, Elaine! Enjoy!