Tabbouleh – or The Sudden Parsley Harvest!

October 17th:  the word on the street was a Killing Frost.  It happened that night; when I woke on the 18th the thermometer read 28 degrees F.

So, among other things that I picked or brought indoors that day was a load of parsley.  The curly leafed stuff that has loads of nice parsley flavor even though this herb ends up being used in most recipes as a garnish (and might often be un-eaten).

My parsley was prolific… and it came only from one single plant.  I didn’t even pick all of it, though I collected most.  And I’d used some (yes, as garnish, but I ate it) in previous weeks.

So… keep in mind this is one of the few recipes I’ll make at home for this blog or otherwise that contains gluten.  I’ll experiment elsewhen with options other than Bulgar wheat, as I know a good portion of my readership cannot eat gluten.  (I may experiment with buckwheat groats, quinoa, broken rice, and possibly cauliflower.)  

Tabbouleh, a serving for dinner.

Since this is the end here for locally grown heirloom tomatoes, I used those instead of supermarket roma tomatoes, but the roma tomatoes will be less “wet” and are often preferred.

Prep Time: About 10 minutes, done while Bulgar is soaking.
“Cook” Time: Bulgar in hot water, 35-45 minutes.
Rest Time: Allow flavors to marry or at least get friendly, for at least an hour.
Serves: 4-6, depending on use.
Cuisine:  Middle Eastern
Leftovers:  Yes! 

Tabbouleh

• 1/2 cup Bulgar wheat
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 medium tomato (or 2 small roma tomatoes), diced. Remove the ends, of course.
• 1/2-2/3 cup chopped parsley, removing larger stems.  Pack this down in the measuring cup, and 2/3 cup is preferred.
• 1/8 cup chopped mint, more or less.
• 2 scallions, chopped. Chop the white part at 1/8th inch, but let the greens go longer.
• Juice of one lime (sub half or so of a lemon if desired)
• 2.5 – 3 tablespoonsful of good quality extra virgin olive oil
• Optional:  Half an English cucumber, diced. 
• Freshly ground pepper, and sea salt (or pink Himalayan salt) to taste.  

Heat up the water, pour it over the bulger wheat in a large bowl.  Mix until all is wet, then cover and leave on the counter for 35-45 minutes.

During this time, chop up the rest of the ingredients.

Check to be sure the water has been absorbed by the Bulgar wheat, then drop in all the rest of the ingredients.  Start with 1/4 teaspoon salt, you can add more later when you know how all these ingredients work together.  Stir.

Refrigerate (covered) for at least an hour.  You can make a day ahead, and still have leftovers for a few days after.  If needed, at this point add more salt or pepper.

Harvesting parsley, rosemary, tulsi/holy basil. Mostly, it appears, parsley!

Some of the extra parsley can (and will be) frozen. The plan here is to attempt this by putting it in freezer bags, no blanching.

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Health benefits of parsley  (Petroselinum crispum):  

This veggie is high in Vitamin K, as well as in calcium.   A very nutritious source of minerals and other goodies, especially when treated as a vegetable (as in, say, tabbouleh or perhaps even a smoothie), instead of just a herb or garnish.  It is native to the Mediterranean world, and in temperate climates grows as a biannual, flowering and going to seed in its second year.

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Having fun linking this post to:

Fiesta Friday, whose hosts this week are:  Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and Mila @ Milkandbun

What’s for Dinner, Sunday Link Up!

Blurred Living Link Up

Homestead Blog Hop

Full Plate Thursday

 

 

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