Here is how to make the vegetarian Levantine salad Tabbouleh and how to make it gluten-free:

Tabouleh is a classic. Every Middle Eastern make it regularly at home, and is often found in every Middle Eastern restaurant. It is an easy recipe but also needs the right ingredients for the best juicing. And what is a salad without the right juice?

Tabouleh is made of parsley, tomatoes and burgul, which stand for bulgur “cracked wheat”. Recently, some people prefer to make it light and replace burgul with quinoa, which is a way to keep your tabbouleh vegetarian and gluten-free.

I had no idea that there was a Tabbouleh day celebrated in Lebanon since 2001. This is actually incredible, sounds like so much fun. I am not sure how active this day is, but I sure think it should grow and become not only popular in Lebanon, but in the Levante area all along. It can connect all brilliant Tabbouleh makers and create a fantastic day feeding people Tabbouleh made from beautiful Arab chefs. For more information on the National Tabbouleh day click here.

Food Styling

When I decided to photograph my Tabbouleh, I wanted to make it feel super authentic, traditional, and ancient. This is when the images of wood, brown, and natural elements came to my mind. Wood is so rich and makes us richer by surrounding us. I used cinnamon sticks since they are also found in the inner bark of several trees, and other spices and scents that are also used in the kitchen but not necessarily used in tabbouleh.

Benefits

Parsley, Parsley, Parsley, has more vitamins than you think. Decorating your plate with parsley is so healthy imagine eating a dish made of parsley “Tabbouleh”. The amount of vitamins in this herb is very high which keeps your immune system strong, tones your bones and heals your nervous system. It helps flush excess fluid from your body, encourages digestion and supports kidney function. However it is noted that if you have kidney problems and gall bladder then you might need to be careful and ask your doctor before having too much parsley. Parsley is also very good for joints and muscles, eating parsley everyday may help relief any joint pain and relax your muscles.

Very interesting piece of information on parsley is that If you are having hair loss issues, it is also claimed that by rubbing parsley essential oil into your sculpt, you can reduce hair loss. All my health benefit information source is found in the Care2 website.

All my Photos are taken with my beautiful Canon 70D

A beautiful song by Fairouz on Jerusalem “Ya Zahrat Al Madaan”

SUZIE|S KITCHEN 

Make enough for 2 people – Preparation Time 30 minutes

 Ingredients:

2 bundles of parsley

2 large tomatoes

1 teaspoon of bulgur (burgul or replace with quinoa)

1 lemon squeezed

4 tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

1 small green onion or small red onion Finely chopped

Recipe:

1. Wash the parsley very carefully and cut off the ends then make sure you dry them very well.

2. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces.

3. In a bowl add the tomato pieces, burgol, onion, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper mix and leave to soak.

4. Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley.

5. In your serving plate, add the chopped parsley, cover with your soaked mix of tomatoes and borgul, add the onion and mix very well.

6. Your Tabooleh is ready to serve, taste for additional salt or pepper to taste.

Note: You can replace your burgul with quinoa for a different taste and a gluten free recipe. This dish is always served with lettuce and cucumber on the side.