Me: OK, think of something to write about tabbouleh.

Me: Gotta make it sound fresh and interesting. OK.

Imaginary Pen: Tap, tap, tap.

[awkward silence]

Me: Well, let me think. It’s a salad. It has a filling cracked wheat component. You can take it to barbecues.

Brain: Yeah, loving all that fresh-and-interesting-ness.

Me: Do you have a better idea?

[awkward silence]

Me: I thought not. Maybe I’ll just let it speak for itself.

Brain: Mondays are hard.

Tabbouleh
Serves 6-ish 

1 cup bulgur/cracked wheat
4 spring onions
1 onion
3 tomatoes
1 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
½ cup chopped mint
¼ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
large pinch chilli powder

Place the bulgur in a heatproof bowl, and pour boiling water over it (enough to cover the wheat). Place a plate or a lid on top and leave it for 15 minutes (like how you prepare couscous, just left for longer). Drain and rinse the wheat in cold water, drain again and set aside to cool.

Prepare the other salad vegetables – finely chop the spring onions and onion, dice the tomatoes and chop the herbs. If you’re using almonds (highly recommended), dry toast them until they’re just fragrant. Mix with the cooled wheat.

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and chilli powder, and season to taste. Toss through the salad to coat and serve.

Side note: while I was thinking of things to write about tabbouleh, I googled it and came across this article on David Lebovitz’s site. Turns out this kind of tabbouleh bears little resemblance to the traditional Lebanese dish. Two thoughts – firstly, this salad is still nice and a dish worthy of being made anyway, secondly, let’s try the traditional Lebanese way next time