Spring Tabbouleh Salad
I love a good Tabbouleh salad. The problem is finding a good one. So many Tabbouleh salads are mainly bulgur wheat, when the main ingredient should really be the herb — parsley. Cucumber, mint and tomato are the other main ingredients for this salad and it makes for a great picnic salad or side dish at any summer gathering.
I wanted to enjoy a Tabbouleh salad this past week, but I wanted to take advantage of some of the great seasonal vegetables at the store. So with the help of fresh English peas, and baby pea shoots, my Spring Tabbouleh Salad was born. Even though mint and peas are a great match, I left out the mint because I didn’t want to overwhelm the delicate flavors of the pea shoots.
There aren’t many ingredients to this salad and they are very affordable, making this a great economical salad to enjoy this spring!
- 1 cup bulgur
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- 1 cup shelled english peas
- 1 cup pea pods, each cut into 3 pieces
- 1 cup pea shoots
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
- 1 bunch green onions
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Start by combining the bulgur, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, boiling water and 1.5 teaspoons salt in a bowl. Let this mixture sit for at least 30 minutes.
- Chop the pea shoots, parsley and green onions finely. Add the peas, pea pods and herbs to the bulgur and toss. Season with remaining salt and pepper.
- Place in the refrigerator and let rest for at least one hour — the longer, the better. The flavors will really come together the longer it sits. I like to make this first thing in the morning for a dinner party in the evening. Leftovers, if any, are great the next day — just drizzle a little olive oil and fresh lemon juice to liven the salad back to life!
