You may already be familiar with tabbouleh, the Middle Eastern lemony herb, and bulgur salad. This is what I was familiar with when going to Lebanese/Syrian restaurants in Montreal and the one I found when living in Dubai. It contains very little grain, lots of parsley, some onion, and from time to time, you’d also see some little bits of cucumbers and tomato. When I came to France however, I found a different version of it, that has a North African influence, where bulgur is replaced by generous amounts of couscous and to which is added some chopped parsley, mint, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and sometimes raisins, pine nuts or even seeds. It is mostly served in warmer months – in fact, it’s a total summer food. It is a usual suspect at most barbecues, picnics and get-togethers because it is pretty easy to make, super fresh tasting and you can easily make large quantities of it.
So which version do I prefer? Both are great. The Middle Eastern kind is uber green, fresh, delish and healthy, but requires a little more chopping and has to be eaten on the same day. The French/North African one is more carb-filled so a little heavier, but is also super fragrant, flavorful and pretty. It also keeps for a few days and most children totally go for it because of its high carb content so I often opt for that one.
This recipe is one that was handed down to a friend of mine by her mother-in-law and they swear by it – and so do I. In fact, preparing it is a mini labor of love for me. Slowly mixing the couscous, lemon juice and olive oil with my hands, carefully chopping the herbs, dicing the tomatoes and cucumber finely and putting it all together is just so grounding and calming. One should make it the day before and let the tabbouleh rest in the fridge so that all the flavors can blend together. If you can’t, then at least do it in the morning for later that day. Of course, there are a lot of little variations to this depending on the family, etc. but this one has become my go-to one.
We tend to have it alongside grilled fish, chicken or “merguez” – North African lamb sausages that are also super popular throughout barbecue season. And then the leftovers are easily eaten up the next day for a quick lunch with a few spoonfuls of hummus or tapenade. Or for another barbecue…
Ingredients
- Juice of 3 lemons
- 6 tbsp/90 ml olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 300g couscous (get a fine grind if possible like this one)
- 1 large cucumber or 2 smaller ones, seeded but not peeled and diced finely
- 3-4 tomatoes, diced finely
- 1 small onion, diced finely (optional)
- 1 cup/60 g mint, chopped finely
- 1 cup/60 parsley, chopped finely
- a handful of raisins
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- a handful of pumpkin seeds or pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the raisins in hot (not boiling) water for 20 minutes.
- Place the couscous in a large bowl. Stir in the salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Let sit for 20 minutes or so until the couscous plumps up a little. With clean hands, crumble the couscous so as to separate all the grains.
- Add the cucumber, tomatoes, onion, mint and parsley. Drain the raisins and add them too. Season with pepper, mix well, cover, and let sit for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.
- Before serving, throw in the pumpkin seeds and toss lightly
