Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern dish traditionally made with bulgar wheat which contains gluten so to make this a gluten free recipe I’ve used quinoa instead.

Through trial and error I think I’ve finally mastered cooking quinoa to get it resulting in a lovely fluffy texture.  The trick is to rinse it, rinse it, rinse it.  1 cup of uncooked quinoa yields about 3 cups cooked.  Measure out your quinoa and in a fine mesh sieve rinse it under cold running water.  You want to get your hands in and move the grains about so they are get washed, this gets rid off the bitter taste you sometimes get with quinoa.  Next place a large pan over a medium heat and add the quinoa to toast it lightly.  Add the water and place a lid on the pan, bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes until the water has evaporated and the quinoa is cooked.  Fluff up with a fork.  I sometimes cook my quinoa in vegetable stock to give it some flavour, as let’s be honest, plain quinoa is bland!

This tabbouleh salad is lovely and light and fresh, perfect with hummus and grilled chicken or even on its own.  I make a big bowl of this and keep it in the fridge and it lasts me almost a week, I say ‘almost’ a week, it would probably last a week in the fridge if I didn’t keep having a spoonful each time I passed the fridge!

The key to a good tabbouleh, I think, is to chop the vegetables and herbs very, very finely.  Once the tabbouleh has been left to sit for a few hours or overnight the flavours are beautiful together.

Ingredients

-2 cups cooked quinoa

-1 cup cherry tomatoes, de-seeded and finely chopped

-1/4 red onion, finely chopped

-zest of 1 lemon

-large bunch of parsley, leaves only and finely chopped

-small bunch of mint, leaves only and finely chopped

-salt and pepper to taste

Dressing

-1/4 cup rapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil

-juice of 1/2 lemon

How To Make

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the dressing ingredients and mix well.

In a separate bowl combine the dressing ingredients then pour over the tabbouleh.  Mix well.

Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Enjoy 🙂