Wino,
Here's a basic traditional tabouleh. It makes about 3 pints:
- 2 cups small grain bulgar wheat (#1)
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 to 3 cups fine-chopped parsley and/or mint
- 1 to 2 cups diced tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes.
- Juice of 2 lemons
- ½ cup kalamata olive oil
- 2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tsp hot pepper (ideally Aleppo or Hot Paprika)
In a bowl, soak and cover bulgur in the hot water until cool and all water is absorbed (about 30 minutes). Combine with parsley, tomatoes, salt, olive oil, and pepper. Add juice of one lemon; taste and add as much additional lemon juice as seems necessary to balance the flavors.
Let sit at room temperature for at least ½ hour, or in the fridge for up to a day before serving. OK as leftovers for 3-4 days.
Note: sometimes the large, tough grains of cracked wheat are misleadingly sold as bulgar wheat. The grain you want for this recipe should be branless and about 1-2 mm grain. This is known as "#1" bulgur wheat, or sometimes "instant" bulgur wheat.
