How to Make Tabouli
Whether served as a side dish or a meal of its own, tabouli is a way to elevate your everyday salads. With no-cook steps, tabouli is a hearty recipe for warm weather gatherings and dinner parties when you’re entertaining. In just six steps, you can make a flavorful homemade tabouli recipe with an assist from your KitchenAid® food processor. Read more to learn how to make your own tabouli.
What is Tabouli?
A dish at the very heart of Middle Eastern cooking, tabouli (sometimes tabbouleh) is a salad made from bulgur instead of leafy greens. The combination of the bulgur, vegetables and herbs (especially parsley) makes tabouli a nutrient-rich meal and a light, refreshing alternative to a common salad.
What’s the Difference Between Tabouli and Tabbouleh?
Despite the difference in spelling, there is no difference between tabouli and tabbouleh. Instead, they are different spellings of the same flavorsome dish.
Homemade Tabouli Recipe
Creating tabouli can be broken into two primary steps: treating the bulgur and chopping vegetables and herbs. Start by soaking your bulgur until it becomes tender. Then chop your vegetables and herbs in the food processor, ensuring a fine chop. Finish by pouring your olive oil and lemon dressing over the salad.
Yields
6 servings.
Ingredients
Bulgur
Diced cucumber
Diced tomato
Salt
Parsley
Mint leaves
Green onion
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Tools
Multipurpose S-blade
Bowl
Total Time
20 minutes
STEP 1: SOAK BULGUR
Begin with the base of your tabouli: wash the bulgur wheat and soak it in water until it becomes tender (or a maximum of ten minutes). Drain the bulgur well and place it into a serving bowl.
STEP 2: SET UP YOUR FOOD PROCESSOR
Secure the work bowl at the base of your food processor. Attach the multipurpose s-blade and secure the lid. Learn more about how to set up and use a food processor.
STEP 3: CHOP VEGETABLES AND HERBS
In medium-sized batches, place your mint leaves and parsley into the work bowl. Learn how to store these herbs in this guide.
Select a “chop” setting if available, then pulse three to five times with your multipurpose s-blade. Then add onions and pulse for another two to three times to ensure a fine texture. Make sure to drain any excess liquid.
On a cutting board, skin your cucumber and deseed it, along with your tomatoes. Dice these vegetables finely, or use the KitchenAid® 13-cup food processor with dicing kit, then add them to the herb mixture.
STEP 4: WHISK DRESSING
Put your olive oil, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl and whisk them all together.
STEP 5: COMBINE INGREDIENTS AND SERVE
Pour the vegetable/herb mixture on top of the bulgur. Finish by topping the salad off with the dressing and tossing. Let the tabouli rest for 20 minutes to allow the various flavors of the dish to mix with one another, then serve.
Shop KitchenAid® food processors for Making Tabouli
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How Do You Keep Tabouli from Getting Soggy?
To avoid a soggy tabouli, make sure you are draining all of your ingredients and letting them dry. This includes all of your washed vegetables and herbs as well as your bulgur. Additionally, make sure to check that your vegetable/herb mixture is drained before placing it on top of the bulgur.
How Long Does Tabouli Last?
Tabouli can be enjoyed as a next-day meal or even prepared in advance for meal prep later in the week. Letting tabouli sit for a day in the refrigerator may even help the flavors mingle. Because of its ingredients, tabouli will last in the refrigerator for up to four days, so make sure you eat it before then.
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