Quinoa Tabbouleh

This gluten free version of a childhood favorite was a long time in the making.  Not unlike other staple recipes in many ethnic cuisines, there are dozens, if not scores, of versions floating around out there.  I was obsessed with recreating the version that my grandmother always made when I was a kid.  She’s changed her recipe over the years, so it wasn’t a simple matter of just asking.  Her and my mother’s responses were always “I don’t know.  You chop everything up and keep adding stuff to the bowl until it tastes like tabbouleh.”  Thanks, guys.  *sigh*

 The first break in the case came with the discovery of a simple tabbouleh recipe on the back of a package of Bob’s Red Mill cracked bulgar wheat.  It looked promising, with equal proportions of the grain, tomatoes and chopped parsley.  Not being able to eat cracked wheat, finding a replacement was proving to be a challenge.  Brown rice didn’t quite cut it.  Chickpeas made a fantastic salad, but it wasn’t tabbouleh.  Eliminating the grain altogether and adding diced cucumber was delightful, and is actually more of a Turkish shepherd’s salad, but again, not tabbouleh.

Then quinoa gained popularity and I could practically hear jackpot bells going off in my head.  It had the right grain size, the same basic flavor profile and was even the right color.  It took a couple of times to get the proportions right and strike the proper balance of lemon, mint and salt that I remembered from my youth, but I finally hit it and that was a happy day, indeed.  After making it so many times over the last few years, we were able to standardize the recipe, and now we’re sharing it, so there’s an actual written record.

This is a great salad for so many reasons.  It’s tart, herbal base notes are the perfect accompaniment to grilled meats, hearty stews, or it can be part of a lighter, refreshing, Mediterranean or Middle Eastern mezze spread.  The tabbouleh itself is gluten free and vegan, and you can scale it so easily to serve two people, large groups at the holidays, or a hungry crowd at your next summer barbecue.

The recipe as listed below actually yields twice the amount of what is pictured.  We did also discover a couple of kitchen hacks to make the process worlds easier.  First, you can make the quinoa in advance and throw it in the fridge to chill.  Second, for anyone who is intimidated by the prospect of all of the chopping called for in this recipe, you can rinse and dry the parsley and mint, then toss them in a food processor and pulse them down to a fine chop.

The rest is relatively easy. Once the main ingredients are prepped and in the mixing bowl, just stir to combine.  We’ve provided measurements for the remaining ingredients, but frankly, as far as the lemon, salt, pepper and scallions go…I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this…you just add them to the mix until it tastes like (say it with me, boys and girls)…Tabbouleh.  *sigh*

Quinoa Tabbouleh

 

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Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 cups seeded and diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped fresh parsley (curly)
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons), plus more (if desired)
• 8 to 10 chopped mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Toss all ingredients in a large bowl to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add more lemon juice to taste. Serve.

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