Tabbouleh

I know this isn't the most innovative salad, and in fact is really not innovative at all. But it was super delicious and I haven't participated in No Croutons Required (a monthly soup/salad blog event) for a while, so I'm submitting this! This month's theme is soup/salad with grains. I wanted to include this salad in my mom's birthday meal since I know she's been wanting to find a good tabbouleh recipe for a while. I remember she tried one out but no one really liked it that much - I think because of the mint. So I skipped the mint in this one, and we all loved it. Even my stepdad, who said he always says no to tabbouleh, had a second helping. For those interested, my mom's birthday meal included this tabbouleh, insanely delicious focaccia (which is kind of fried while baking mmm, more on that in another post), olive tapenade, broccoli lemon feta pecan pasta, roasted vegetables, and lemon lust cake.

I don't feel the need to search for a better or different tabbouleh and will definitely make this again. I would love to try adding the suggested additions to make it more of a substantial meal salad - chickpeas, roasted red peppers, cucumbers, olives. Bulghur isn't available at the grocery stores near me, so I have to get it from a warehouse/specialty food store that's about 30 minutes away. My boyfriend was in the area one day (while I was at home) and he called me to tell me he was at that store. A store I think he doesn't really enjoy going to when I'm with him because I say I just need to pick up 2 or 3 things and then get lost looking at all the different kinds of grains, beans, dried fruit, etc. He went to search for the bulghur because he knew I'd been wanting it. How sweet is he? Oh and did I mention that he did all of the chopping for this salad?

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Bulghur Grape Salad
French Barley Salad
Santa Fe Pasta Salad
Balkan Roasted Vegetable Salad

Tabbouleh
Adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook

1 cup bulghur
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1 bunch parsley
1/2 small red onion (Ashley note: The recipe recommended using 1 small onion but I thought it'd be too much so only used half. But the salad can definitely handle 1 small red onion so it's up to you.)

1. Combine bulghur and salt in a bowl and stir in the boiling water. Cover tightly with plastic wrap for 20 minutes. (Ashley note: Mine took longer than 20 minutes - maybe 30-35.) Uncover and fluff the grains with a fork. Let cool to room temperature.

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and seasonings. Set aside.

3. Wash stemmed parsley, shake off excess water and dry on a clean kitchen towel. Mince the parsley and red onion. In a serving bowl, combine cooled bulghur, prepared parsley and onion. Pour dressing over the ingredients and toss thoroughly. Let the salad rest before serving (30 minutes), or cover and store in the refrigerator.