Tabbouleh (Lebanese Style)

Real Lebanese tabbouleh is a parsley salad with a little bulgur, not the other way around.

If you’ve only had the grain-heavy versions from supermarket delis, this recipe will be a revelation.

Two and a half cups of fresh flat-leaf parsley take center stage, backed by fragrant mint, diced cucumber, red onion, and scallions, all tossed with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and good extra-virgin olive oil.

The bulgur is soaked until tender, drained well, and folded in as a supporting player, not the star.

A pinch of allspice is the subtle Lebanese touch that sets this apart from every other tabbouleh you’ve tried.

Pro Tips

• Press the bulgur dry. After soaking for an hour, squeeze it hard in a sieve to remove as much water as possible. Wet bulgur makes soggy tabbouleh.
• Let the onion-salt mixture sit. Thirty minutes with salt and allspice draws out the onion’s sharpness and infuses it with flavor before anything else goes in.
• Use flat-leaf parsley. Curly parsley is too tough and bland for this. Italian flat-leaf is what gives authentic tabbouleh its bright, peppery bite.
• Chop fine, not minced to a paste. You want tiny distinct pieces of herb, not green mush.