Spinach Tabouleh

Tabouleh is classic Arab cuisine. It's hard to go wrong with it, but I find traditional parsley-based Tabouleh to be time consuming to make because I hate prepping parsley. A few years ago, my mom made Tabouleh with baby spinach, and our family hasn't really gone back since. The flavor is a bit different, but so delicious. The other important distinction in this Tabouleh? We soak the bulgar directly in lemon juice for the most refreshing, tart flavor. Enjoy!

Standard Ingredients

Makes 3-4 servings

The final product: Spinach Tabouleh.

• 10 oz of baby spinach (~3/4 lb).

• 1 cup dried bulgar (also called cracked wheat).

• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes.

• 1/2 a large white onion (~1 cup finely chopped),

• 6 lemons.

• 1/2 cup good olive oil.

• 1 teaspoon salt, divided.

• 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided.

• 1/8 teaspoon of cumin, or to taste.

Possible Substitutions

• Spinach: 4-5 bunches of parsley, either flat-leaf/Italian or curly.

• Cherry Tomatoes: any firm tomatoes, slightly sweet in flavor is best. You'll need about 1.5 cups chopped, in total.

• White Onion: you could use a milder onion variety, but I'd avoid red onion. Green onion could add a nice, mild flavor.

Directions

1. In a bowl, place the 1 cup of dried bulgar with 1/4 cup olive oil, and the juice of 5 lemons to begin with. There should be enough liquid in the bowl to saturate all the bulgar. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Mix. Set aside, remembering to stir every 20 minutes or so.

2. Finely chop the 10 oz of spinach and place in a large bowl.

3. Finely mince the onion and add to the bowl with the spinach.

4. Take the tomatoes and cut each in half. De-seed the tomatoes before finely dicing them. Add to the spinach & onion bowl, cover the bowl, and put it in the refrigerator.

5. Check on the bulgar. After 30 minutes or so, the bulgar will have absorbed most, if not all, of the liquid. At this point, the bulgar will likely still have a bite to it, so you'll need to add the juice of one additional lemon and 1/4 cup of additional olive oil. Mix. Continue to stir the bulgar every 20 minutes or so.

6. After an hour, if the bulgar still has a bite to it, add another 1/4 cup of olive oil, stir, and leave for another 30 minutes. If the bulgar still needs liquid, add 1/8 cup olive oil and let sit for 20 minutes. Continue to add 1/8 cup of olive oil at a time until the bulgar is well soaked and no longer has a bite to it.

7. Once the bulgar is ready, bring out the big bowl with the spinach, onions, and tomatoes, and add the bulgar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon of cumin (or to taste). Mix well to combine. Taste the mixture, and if you need more salt, add to taste.

8. Generally, Tabouleh isn't overly dressed. If the salad is drier than you'd like, however, add a bit of olive oil or additional lemon juice until you achieve your desired dressing level.

Sahtein!