My Twist on the Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh, a Middle Eastern traditional salad made of bulgur wheat and fresh cukes, tomatoes and aromatic herbs, has gained a lot of attention in my kitchen a few years ago.

I love health foods and this one seemed to cover this base at least. Tabbouleh turned out to be my hero: easy to make, delicious and healthy, low in fat and rich in dietary fibers and vitamins that are not easy to get on a daily basis from just eating your regular meals and without help from the Vitamin Shoppe.


Here is my latest twist on the classic tabbouleh:

My twist on the classic tabbouleh

Ingredients

• 1 box of cream of buckwheat (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 boxes of cherry tomatoes
• 2 medium cukes
• 1 bunch scallion
• 1 kohlrabi
• 1 long red pepper
• 1 bunch parsley, 1 bunch fresh mint
• 1/2 cup of red quinoa
• Lemon marinated anchovies (you can find them at Mediterranean Foods of Astoria)
• juice from one lime
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper to taste
• Mexican tostadas - optional

I love the combination of colors of buckwheat and red quinoa. The buckwheat is slightly on the pink side, as compared to bulgur wheat, more of a yellow.  I prefer the red quinoa for the nice contrast, but you can use the white or black one as well. Both Quinoa  and buckwheat are a good choice for gluten and wheat-free diets. 


Boil buckwheat using the amount of water and salt indicated on the box, until it becomes tender but still crisp, you do not want it mushy. Your purpose is not to make a cream of buckwheat. Wash immediately in cold water so you stop the cooking process. Boil quinoa following box instructions. Wash in cold water.

Chop pepper, cukes and kohlrabi. Slice the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Finely chop scallions and aromatics. Gently mix everything together using a fork so that every ingredient is mixed well, but salad does not become mushy. Add lime juice, oil, salt pepper to taste.



My choice for mexican tostada was totally random, but I love the result:  It gives tabbouleh the crisp element it needed.


Place tostada on a plate and lay spoonfuls of tabbouleh, garnish with anchovies and parsley.


Bon appetit!

DanaTina