Tabbouleh!
It’s hot. When it’s hot, I like cold salads and things that cook quickly, because I don’t have central AC, but instead a giant window unit in the middle of the house that cools the kitchen as long as you don’t cook in it. 
It’s hot. When it’s hot, our garden gives a plenty. We have so many tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, zucchini and squash that our yard is getting choked.
Luckily, Greek style food relies on so much of what we’re growing.
First, tabbouleh. I saw the Greek meze menu in this month’s Cooking Light and was inspired. Cooking Light’s version of the salad is good, but I made a few adapatations, as I always do with Cooking Light- and it’s always to add more flavor. I’m not sure who’s in their tasting kitchen, but I imagine they are midwestern, because they have a very, very light hand with the spices.
Tabbouleh is easy, but takes a few minutes to prep all the vegetables. If you had a Slap Chop, it would go lightning fast. To me, this wasn’t enough chopping to pull out the food processor, but I am pretty handy with a knife, so it didn’t seem like a big deal.
For salads like these, I prefer mise en place- everything in its place. It also allows me to assign chopping duties to a helper as well.
Recipe
You’ll need
- 1 cup uncooked bulgur
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (2 lemons should do it)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups chopped tomato (about 2 large)
- 1 1/4 cups chopped seeded peeled cucumber (about 1 medium)
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3/4 cup chopped green onions (about 3)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
How To
- Place bulgur in a large bowl and cover with one cup of boiling water. Let stand, covered, for about 30-45 minutes.
- Throw everything else in and let it steep at room temperature for about an hour. It’s even better the next day.
