TABBOULEH SALAD
Submitted by grizzlybiscuit on March 30, 2005 at 3:38 pm

This is a long time Mediterranean standard served in many parts of the world. It is very heathy and demands all the freshest ingredients available! It is usually served cold as a salad alongside toasted Pita chips and other flatbreads or just by itself! It is a refreshing change in the hot summer weather! It has also been served with whole leaves of romaine used to dip into the salad.

1 cup bulgur wheat
2 cups boiling water or stock

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes in juice
1 small to med red onion diced (1/2")
juice and zest from one large lemon
1/3 cup virgin first cold press olive oil
1/2 a bunch of flat leaf parsley chopped
1/2 a bunch of fresh mint leaves chopped
kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp. honey (To take a little of the edge off of the lemon and balance the flavors)

Optional:
8 oz. small diced ham
1 cup of fully cooked hard red winter wheat berries
1/2 cup thawed blanched whole kernel corn
1/2 cup thawed blanched green peas

Drain the diced tomatoes and reserve the juice.

Put a pot of water on to boil & add the reserved tomato juice and enough water to equal about 1 quart. Add some coarsely chopped onions, celery, carrots and a couple of pieces of garlic (about a pound total for all three) and any herbs you have lying around (a couple of bay leaves, some thyme leaves, and 10 whole black peppercorns), and simmer it all for 30-45 minutes. Strain.

Measure out 2 cups of the stock and pour it over the cup of bulgur and let soak for 45 minutes to an hour covered in plastic on the side.

Drain off any excess stock if there is any, and place the now cooked or fully hydrated bulgur into a large mixing bowl.

Now dice the red onion and chop the parsley and mint; add this and all other ingredients together with the bulgur and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled or overnight!

The amounts for the lemon juice and olive oil are guidelines; add more or less to your liking.
This dish is usually served without any kind of meat, but I like to throw in the diced ham and the peas and corn for color and flavor.

If you don't have the canned diced tomatoes, you can just dice some fresh ones.

The wheat berries must be soaked overnight ahead of time and then drained, rinsed, and simmered for about 1 1/2 hours or until done . Drain them and chill. Do this 2 days before you make the salad.
You can use whatever kind of fruit juice you like: lime, orange, apple, cranberry. You can add walnuts with this, etc. Lemon is classic.

Or you can add Balsamic vinegar, cider, rice wine, red wine, or any other type of vinegar you like in place of the juice!

Mint leaves are classic and IMHO very hard to replace here, but if you really like a different type of herb, then go for it!

You can use the remainder of the vegetable stock if there is any to just steam veggies on the stove in a frying pan!