We all have those things we wouldn’t eat as a kid. Then slowly, as we bloom into maturity, our palates develop a mind of their own. Thinking back, their were only a handful of things I would not touch when I was little: yellow squash, raw tomatoes, egg yolks, wet bananas (as in fruit salad), and tabouli.
Tabouli salad was my arch-nemesis. I remember sitting at the dining table long after everyone else had left, refusing to each the two bites my mother required. Luckily, we had an expanding table that could hold large leaves on either end. Underneath the joints were brackets that stuck out like little shelves. If I was very careful that no one saw, I could shovel my meal under the table onto the little shelves! Later the dog would come remove the evidence.
Unfortunately, my parents loved tabouli. Maybe the haunting memories of it have warped my reality, but it seemed to be in the fridge all the time. Nowadays, I can’t think of what it was about tabouli, I didn’t like. Maybe all the parsley threw me off… Or the citrus, who knows. What I can tell you is that I now love it, I crave it, and I prefer it to most any other grain salad.
The bright pop of lemon paired with the nutty essence of the bulgur wheat, and the cooling effects of mint and cucumbers are hard to beat. Plus it holds up for days in the fridge! That means I can make a large batch, and stand with the refrigerator doors open eating it for days on end.
In fact, the only thing that could possibly make tabouli better is feta, and a bitter bite from endive leaves as is today’s Tabouli with Feta and Endive Recipe. Either dollop the tabouli salad into the endive leaves and top with crumbled feta for a refined appetizer, or place it in a bowl and let your guests scoop their leaves ’til their heart’s content.
Authentic Tabouli (Tabbouleh) recipes are all pretty much the same: bulgur wheat, mint, parsley, cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon, olive oil. The only real variation you’ll find is in proportion, and even that doesn’t vary much. However, if you are looking for a subtle change, try making our Tabouli with Feta and Endive. You can even try it with quinoa or whole grain couscous.
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