Fresh Tabouli Salad with mint and crispy vegetables

I've never heard of or seen anything called bulger. It looks like a very interesting salad... looks yummy!

Delicious and one of my favorite dishes. I like couscous done this way too! And other ways too. Hah.

Katrina! I made this very thing this morning, I love it so much. I had fresh tomatoes, it is the season here. I lived in Saudi, so I know this recipe by heart. Add feta, that really kicks it up a notch.
OH! I made your blueberry clafouti today. It is to die for, we ate it right out of the oven, and the rest will be breakfast. Wow, delish. Thanks, toots!

Charlene - it's wonderful! Hope you bump into it soon!

Mme D - it's kind of a forgotten grain, I think - but one of the few I like. Really nice texture......thanks for popping in!

I keep forgetting you've had lots of adventures, Faith! And feta - I think I need to find a brand I really like - I've had some really sour-tasting feta!
Deeeelighted you liked the clafouti! Isn't it wonderful? Yummers! And thanks, and a happy Fourth!

thanks

It looks delicious. My mother tried making something out of bulgur once, but I think we both gave up too fast.

I like bulgur for soups and for dumplings, every time I visited Turkey that was one of my favorite foods. I've not tried it this way, I thought tabouli was Marrocan, but what do I know.
I've been buying it at the polish store and at the balkan food store - they sell it in bulk in about 3 to 5 different bulgur varieties at the arab store in our area.
There is quite a difference in taste and also in what you use which type of bulgur for. At least that is what I have been told. The lighter and finer variety is the best.

The better quality costs more and is only used for certain things.
To me there is nothing better to stretch your budget with than to add bulgur to a soup or a stew.
I've had couscous on the island of Djerba (Tunesia) and liked it. I didn't like the stuff in the box - I tried here - so I guess I won't be cooking with it.

As far as the feta cheese there are plenty of balkan stores who carry good quality and I found I agree with what someone told me the feta from Bulgaria was the best.

Katrina - as soon as I get a chance I will try your recipe - I love mint and with the heat around here this should be just the ticket.

I've never eaten this dish since I'm allergic to tomatoes, nor have I tried to make it. Can I make it without tomatoes? I love the idea of the bulgur with mint, but tomatoes really are a deadly deal-breaker!

Hi Katrina,
Sounds great! I love this kind of salad.
I've made variations of it with couscous and also with millet - and of course with bulgur - it's always good! You might add a "vegan" tag...
Dorine - put in any veggies that work for you and that you like, then it will be great!

Thanks, Dena and Jennifer!

Hi j r - you might try making bulgar again, though I'm not sure the kids would like the texture? Thanks for reading, anyway!

Rose - what an exotic travelling life you've had! Actually, I think bulgar IS Morrocan, but I'll have to re-Google it - I know it's one of the oldest grains in the food world. Not that NH has any Bulgarian shops - but I thank you for the shopping tips! It's funny how our taste buds are - both couscous and quinoa leave me cold- there's something about the texture that turns me off. But every year I try again, we'll see.....

Dorine - tomatoes are not important to the recipe - but the bulgar and mint are essential - oh, and the lemon or lime juice. Those are the primary flavors, so you're good to go! Thanks for swinging by!

Hi Cristina! Millet - now there's a grain I haven't tried....thanks for the nudge! And I did forget the vegetarian and vegan tag, didn't I? Thanks for reminding me!

Thanks. I'm going to try it.

Great, Dorine! I think you'll love it - and I'm sure you'll be making some tasty additions to the basic recipe!

Katrina, I love grainy salads!

I've tried this with Couscous when Bulgar Wheat was not in my pantry. I use chicken stock to cook the grain in and then I use green onions instead of scallions, and add chopped black olives, pineapple mint instead of plain mint to give it an extra zing. Sprinkled with feta cheese, I am good to go!

When I throw in chunks of grilled chicken, it's a complete meal. :-)

couscous, quinoa, bulgar, orzo, rice - all would work with the simple but elegant and tasty sounding recipe - thanks Katrina - I'm going to the health food store this afternoon. I'll add bulgar to the list. Stay cool!

Duckie - that sounds awesome! My understanding is that it's green onions on the West Coast, and scallions in the Northeast, yes?
Thanks for your recipe!

You're absolutely right, Richard - but honestly, the only ones I'd pick are orzo and bulgar. Love orzo and black olives! Still humid and sticky here - and threatening rain, but that's how the last two weeks have been - and almost no rain at all. Thanks!

Katrina, you could be right about the terminology referring to geographical differences as well, but I always thought scallions were the young (before a bulb develops) plants of shallots and leeks whereas green onions were young plants of the white and/or yellow onions.

No, no - scallions are a seed unto themselves, which doesn't mean you can't use baby onion-family greens instead, Duckie! The one year I had a good garden, I used Dutch Long Standing, I think it was called.........

This looks really good! I love the fresh taste of Tabouli Salad. I think mint will add a nice touch!

Hi Joy - I was surprised at how many people I know don't put mint in it - to me, tabouli IS mint! Love the veggies and citrus, but the mint is wonderfully refreshing and not something you see often in salads....thanks!

Never had anything like it, I'm glad you showed me what the bag looks like,I will have to look for this when I'm shopping,always love cold salads in the summer the non-mayo type that is :)Yummmmmmy :)

Thanks, Jenna! I don't make mayo salads either - I make French potato salad with a vinagrette and chopped up herbs and sugar snap peas - pasta salad with chopped basil and vinagrette. The nice thing about that is not worrying about it going bad in the heat, as mayo does.

sounds wonderful.

I bought some quinoa while on vacation, and when all my veggies in the garden are in, I will be making this with the quinoa and various goodies from our garden. It's always been a favorite of ours!

I'm NUTS about Tabouli. We add sliced black olives, too. Yum!

Thanks, LaRue - glad you liked the recipe!

Hey, Shannon - I still loathe quinoa ( something about the texture), but love tabouli and bulgar. Interesting to put the two together!

Hi Aaron - never thought to try olives, but I'll give it a shot - thanks!

Kat, it's never a forgotten grain in our family. My grandmother taught me to make a Bowtie Kasha called Kasha Varnischkes that is a simple and tasty salad served hot or cold. The original recipe had toasted buckwheat groats, but my grandmother frequently substituted bulgar or an Israeli couscous for the grain in addition to multiple seasonings to perk up the dish.

Mme D - is kasha the same thing as cracked wheat/bulgar? I'm remembering having kasha ages ago, and it was very similar, maybe a little chewier. What nationality was your grandmother? I ask, because I'm hearing back from friends about Bulgarian bulgar, with a few people mentioning Lebanese tabouli. And what seasonings did she use?

I adore quinoa. Thanks for the wonderful sounding salad. I adore tabulah. Just remember to wash the quinoa before cooking it as it has a nasty tasting chemical on it that is natural to the plant. It is not added in processing. Without rinsing the dish will taste terrible! I made that mistake many times in my life.

Katrina, Kasha is a different thing all together. It is buckwheat, a different grain. My grandmothers were from Russia and they adored kasha. I still can't deal with the smell when I see it cooking. I can tell right away what it is!

When using bulghur wheat, make sure to use a good amount of salt. It will taste very bland without it. Most grains taste that way without it. This is not the place to be really careful with the salt, unless you use other salty ingredients in the salad such as olives or anchovies.

Risa - thanks for the mention of washing the quinoa! I never heard that anywhere! As far as kasha, I think I've had it a few times and liked it - you just never know about ones tastes, do you?

Yes, I did notice that about the bulgar....and also noticed I preferred the health food store bulgar over the Goya brand. The Goya brand bulgar wasn't as chewy - much fluffier, as a matter of fact..... thanks, Risa!

Katrina, I'm happy to see that Risa already answered your questions. As for the quinoa, I was taught to rinse it several times before cooking to remove the "off" taste that it carries. It also helps soften the grain.

As Risa said, the kasha requires a lot of seasoning because it's a very bland grain. I don't enjoy the cooking aroma from it, but I do enjoy the texture. My grandmothers used a surprising amount of salt, black pepper, frequently a combination of herbs (fresh), sometimes garlic. They were not recipe cooks so it varied depending on what they had on hand. Experiment! That's how I learned to toss and pinch and smell and taste while cooking!

Thank goodness for the amazing cooks on Gather! I never knew that about the quinoa, as I said, but then, I don't like it so I doubt I'll need to remember this!

Mme D - now you got me thinking about kasha.......and thanks for coming by! Hope it's cooler in CA than here - yikes! Over 90 degrees and 97% humidity................

Congratulations on being featured in the gather news letter Katrina!

I don't know what the Gather newsletter is, j r!

yumola, i love this recipe!!! isn't faith lucky? sigh. our tomatoes are still little flowers on the plant.

Can't do bulgar (I'm gluten-intolerant) but I've heard quinoa is a good substitute! Now I'm inspired......

Oops, jessie - I missed this! By now, you'll be rolling in les tomates, so remember to make this!

Alison, you'll know by now that I really don't like quinoa, but many people do. Do let me know how this works using quinoa - I'd love to know. Thanks so much for coming by!