# Your best tabbouleh recipe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614 "2009-07-10T23:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/1 "2009-07-10T23:02:06Z")
We’ve got one that involves equal quantities of bulgur / water, with a bit of tomatoes / onions / parsley, and lemon juice / olive oil, but the proportions aren’t right or something - it’s edible but nothing great. Help??? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/2 "2009-07-10T23:32:05Z")
I have subscribed to this thread. I hope you get lots of good recipes. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/3 "2009-07-10T23:51:14Z")
I’ve often wondered about this very thing. I do think it gets better with rather more “sauce” than the recipes I’ve tried start out with – more oil and juice. Also, more spices, especially including whatever garlic or shallots or scallions or whatever is called for. I’ve sometimes wondered whether some (US) restaurants use [sumac](http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyssumac.html), which I know is commonly used in salads and other things in parts of the Middle East. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/4 "2009-07-10T23:53:44Z")
I don’t have my recipe handy but fresh mint is a must. Off the top of my head it’s about three-quarters of a cup of bulghur, olive oil, a couple of diced plum tomatoes, fresh chopped mint and parsley, salt, pepper. I also add red onion but my kids find the taste too strong so I soak the onions in water for about 15 minutes to take the edge off. Oh yeah, fresh lemon juice - another must. ---
**Author:** ![D.Fenestrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@D.Fenestrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.Fenestrator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/5 "2009-07-11T00:28:48Z")
I made tabbouleh for the first time the other day; I cut the recipe in half (bulgur, water, parsley, tomato and onion), used just lemon juice on it (omitted the olive oil because I forgot it), and it was still pretty good, if a bit acidic. I used a Walla Walla Sweet onion, so the tabbouleh isn’t aggressively onion-y. Next time, I want to use a greater proportion of bulgur to veggies (this was about 1 part bulgur to 1 part parsley, with another part comprised of the remaining ingredients), and maybe add some cucumber and mint; the recipe I used didn’t call for them, but I have seen others that do. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/6 "2009-07-11T00:51:04Z")
That’s right, I forgot cucumber. I don’t use the seeds, just the white part. I’ve never used water, that surprises me. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/7 "2009-07-11T00:54:25Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > That’s right, I forgot cucumber. I don’t use the seeds, just the white part. I’ve never used water, that surprises me. Presumably water to soak / rehydrate the grain. ---
**Author:** ![D.Fenestrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@D.Fenestrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.Fenestrator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/8 "2009-07-11T01:06:53Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Presumably water to soak / rehydrate the grain. Yes, the recipe I used said to soak the grain for 40 minutes, then to drain it/squeeze the water out. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/9 "2009-07-11T01:16:14Z")
I find the oil and liquid from the veggies hydrates the bulghur well enough but I let it sit a few hours in the fridge before eating it so it can soak in. ---
**Author:** ![D.Fenestrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@D.Fenestrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.Fenestrator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/10 "2009-07-11T01:48:20Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > I find the oil and liquid from the veggies hydrates the bulghur well enough but I let it sit a few hours in the fridge before eating it so it can soak in. This is good to know; I haven’t worked with bulgur before, and didn’t know that would work… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/11 "2009-07-11T01:55:25Z")
Well, I could be doing it “wrong” too, but it tastes good! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-tabbouleh-recipe/502614/12 "2009-07-11T02:35:56Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > I don’t have my recipe handy but fresh mint is a must. Off the top of my head it’s about three-quarters of a cup of bulghur, olive oil, a couple of diced plum tomatoes, fresh chopped mint and parsley, salt, pepper. I also add red onion but my kids find the taste too strong so I soak the onions in water for about 15 minutes to take the edge off. Oh yeah, fresh lemon juice - another must. I was going to bring up mint, and the lemon juice. I also chop up good kalamata olives and chuck them in. There is a recipe attributed to Mohammad where you make a quick pickle of wedges of raw onion, cider vinegar and mint with just a tiny bit of honey. Takes the bite off the onion, and i just sort of chop everything together and let it sit for about 2 hours then chuck it into the tebbouleh, instead of serving it as pickle. If you want to gt really frugal, save the onion skins, put them in just enough water to cover eggs for hardboiling, and simmer very gently - beid hamine, gives the onions a tiny oniony hint.