This tabbouleh salad includes a plethora of aromatic herbs that will make your taste buds sing with happiness – perfect for summer picnics and barbecues.
This was the perfect salad for our bountiful crop of mini Roma tomatoes and to use up all the leftover herbs in our fridge. Partnered with nutty burgul, toasted pine nuts and zesty lime juice it was just incredible.
You Will Need
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1 – Prep Your Burgul
Place ½ cup of burgul wheat in a medium-sized bowl add a pinch of salt and ½ teaspoon cumin powder.
Add 1 cup of boiling hot water to the burgul and stir.
Cover with a plate so that it can puff up.
Allow to soak for at least 30 minutes.
Fluff up with a fork.
Add the oil and lime juice and stir through the bulgur.
Step 2 – Prepare Remaining Ingredients
Wash your mini Roma tomatoes, pat dry and cut in half lengthwise.
Wash your parsley, shake to remove excess water and pat dry. Cut off the stems and roughly chop the leaves.
Wash the rest of your herbs, shake to remove excess water and pat dry. Pick the leaves from the stems then roughly chop.
Remove the papery skin from your onion, rinse and then chop into small dice.
Step 3 – Assem
Place your cooked burghul wheat, your mini Roma tomatoes, all the herbs, diced onion and toasted pine nuts in a large mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper.
Toss until well combined then arrange in a salad bowl and chill until ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions 🍽
Pair it with baked meatballs, kofta, chicken shawarma, lamb cutlets, za’atar salmon, some grilled veggies or even a store-bought roast chicken.
Tips and Questions
Can I Use Other Herbs?
- A great salad to make if you have to use up any herbs that you have in your fridge (just like we did), you can use any combination of soft herbs that you like
- For this salad, we have used mint, basil and dill. But you could also try any combination of – coriander (cilantro), chervil, fennel fronds, tarragon, lovage or micro rocket.
Tips for the Bulgur
- Do not wash or rinse burgul as this will make it soggy.
- Make sure that you use twice the amount of liquid as burgul. No more as it will become soggy, no less as it will not become tender but remain hard.
- Bulgur continues to swell if moisture is present, it more than doubles in volume, so make sure to use a large enough bowl.
- You can also make your burgul on the stovetop if you do not have the time to let it soak, just place your burgul in a small saucepan add 1-2 cups of water add a pinch of salt, then bring to a boil, simmer and cook until tender approximately 10-12 minutes. Then strain and rinse well before using.
- Prepared bulgur can be refrigerated or frozen in containers for later use.
Can I Make It Ahead?
- This tabbouleh salad is at its best if you allow the flavours to develop, make it a few hours ahead and keep it chilled in your fridge.
- You can even make this salad a day before, don’t soak the burgul wheat as there will be enough moisture for it to puff up overnight.
- Also, leave out the mint until just before serving as it may discolour slightly.
Can I Meal Prep This Salad?
A great salad to food prep for your lunches during the week, it makes a great base for shredded chicken, flaked salmon, grilled halloumi or crumbled feta.
What Diets is Herb Tabbouleh Suitable For?
Herb tabbouleh salad is suitable for vegan, vegetarian and dairy-free eaters.
Try Some More of Our Grain Salads
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- ½ cup burghul wheat
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 250 grams mini Roma tomatoes (approximately 1 small punnet)
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley leaves (approximately 2 cups chopped)
- 1 cup mixed herbs (1 used 3 mint stems, 3 basil stems, 3 dill stems)
- 1 small onion (approximately 50 grams)
- ¼ cup pine nuts (toasted)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsps lime juice
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Place your burghul in 1 cup of hot water and allow to soak for 20-30 minutes (until all the water is absorbed and it is cooked through).
- When done fluff with a fork. Add the oil and lime juice and stir well.
- Wash your mini Roma tomatoes, pat dry and cut in half lengthwise.
- Wash your parsley, shake to remove excess water and pat dry. Cut off the stems and roughly chop the leaves.
- Wash the rest of your herbs, shake to remove excess water and pat dry. Pick the leaves from the stems then roughly chop.
- Remove the papery skin from your onion, rinse and then chop into small dice.
- Place your cooked burghul wheat, your mini Roma tomatoes, all the herbs, diced onion and toasted pine nuts in a large mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper. Toss until well combined, taste and adjust seasonings.
- Arrange in a salad bowl and chill until ready to serve.
