How to make tabbouleh salad
We couldn’t call this a classic Lebanese cookbook without a tabbouleh recipe! If I want to determine how authentic the recipes in a Lebanese cookbook are, the first thing I look at is the recipe for tabbouleh. I am ultra-judgemental about it – if the ratio of parsley to any other ingredient is too low, I don’t trust the book.
The origin of tabbouleh predates the creation of the current borders in the Levant. Therefore, to me, a country claiming ownership of the dish is absurd, especially when there are so many regional variations.
Some use mint; others would not eat a tabbouleh with mint in it. Cucumbers and shredded lettuce are also regional additions. But the most surprising I ever heard of was the recipe described to me by some Brazilian siblings of Lebanese descent: their grandma’s tabbouleh recipe, that she had carried with her and prepared in the same way as she had when she was a young girl in Lebanon, was a main meal with lots of bulgur and very little parsley or tomatoes. It’s really up to you to make it the way you like it, but this is the version you’re most likely to find on Lebanese menus.
This recipe is an extract from Bayrūt: recipes from the heart of a Lebanese city kitchen cookbook (Smith Street Books)
Or, why not try this Moroccan tabbouleh recipe?
