Quinoa Tabbouleh

©ShulieMadnick

In 2012 I published "Tabouleh - A Lebanese Parsley, Bulgur Wheat, Mint, Onion & Tomato Salad." at the time, I spelled tabouleh with one b. 

I shared many tips in that post. I won't repeat them all, but some still remain true, and some shifted somewhat. 

I recommended spinning dry the washed parsley after washing and before chopping, which is still the method I use today. If you have excess water in the salad, it will get soggy fast. 

I also mentioned that I prefer flat-leaf parsley, but the local market was out so I bought curly parsley instead.  Curley parsley tends to catch sand or soil, so wash it well before using it. The chopping part of the curly parsley was not as bad as I dreaded it. I rough chop and then use cleaver action to finely chop. The knife has to be sharp. I was also convinced the flavor is different, but I did not detect any flavor differences between the flat and the curly parsley. 

This time I used quinoa instead of bulgur (bulghur). Quinoa is protein-rich and gluten-free. You can use more quinoa than the 1/2 cup I used in this recipe. Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the box (it's usually bringing up 2 cups of water to a boil, then adding in the quinoa and cooking for 20 minutes, covered, on low flame. But, for a 1 cup uncooked quinoa add 1 - 2 tbls oil and 1/8 - 1/4 tsp salt to the water before adding in the quinoa. It can be made ahead and refrigerated. Do not add quinoa while still hot/warm to the tabbouleh.)

If you do not like too much lemon, reduce the amount of acidity. Tomatoes get soggy, so you can add to individual serving unless you don't plan on leftovers when serving. 

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Ingredients:

3 large bunches parsley, bottom stems removed, and finely chopped
Leaves of  2 - 4 mint sprigs, finely chopped1/2 cup - 1 cup cooked quinoa 
1 small onion or large bulb fresh spring onion (or 4 - 6 scallions), green parts sliced and white parts diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
Juice of 2 medium/large lemons (approx. 1/2 cup or according to taste) 
6 tablespoons mild olive oil or a mix of both olive oil and canola
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon salt or according to taste

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients but the tomatoes, mix, adjust lemon and salt, if necessary and refrigerate overnight. The next day dice the tomatoes, mix and serve. 

The tabbouleh is best for 2-3 days max. 

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