Traditionally Tabbouleh is made with finely chopped fresh herbs like curly parsley, mint, scallions, tomatoes, and soaked bulgur wheat. It is then dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. It’s a very refreshing salad that contains healthy ingredients. Some variations of Tabbouleh are also made with sweet papers, cucumber, semolina, or pearl couscous.
This couscous tabbouleh is perfect to serve as a side dish. We love to serve this tabbouleh on the bed of romaine or butter lettuce. So you can scoop this delicious tabbouleh onto the lettuce and eat it as lettuce wraps.
Tips & Suggestions
In this recipe, we are using pearl couscous but you can also use fine bulgur grain instead. To prepare your fine bulgur, soak it in a hot water for 30 to 45 minutes or according to the package instruction.
Curly parsley is one of the main ingredients in this recipe, so please do not skip or skimp on this. We highly recommend using curly parsley rather than using Italian parsley because it is mild in flavor. However, if you cannot find curly parsley, you can most certainly use flat-leaf parsley. When you’re using flat-leaf parsley please reduce the amount mentioned in this recipe.
Mint adds freshness and scallions add light onion flavors to this tabbouleh. Thinly slice your scallion before adding to the salad. We prefer to finely chop the mint but you can simply tear the mint leaves with your hands and add it to the salad.
Do not use ripe and soft tomatoes, please pick nice and firm tomatoes. We recommend using heirloom tomatoes because heirloom tomatoes are so much more flavorful, even when they are not ripe and soft.
Here’s a useful tip before adding the tomatoes to the salad: remove the seeds, salt your diced tomatoes and place them in a colander to drain excess juice.
Dice your bell peppers the same size as tomatoes. Traditional tabbouleh does not have bell peppers but we like the complementing flavors. Here we are using red and yellow bell peppers. Bell peppers are very high in vitamin C, other vitamins and minerals in bell peppers include vitamin K1, vitamin E, vitamin A, folate, and potassium.
Cucumbers are not a traditional ingredient in tabbouleh but use them if you would like to add some more refreshing flavors.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour the prepared dressing into the salad and stir to combine. Tabbouleh should be citrusy and zingy. To achieve that zingy flavor you can add some lemon zest before juicing the lemon.
Our last and the most important tip is that after preparing tabbouleh, cover and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before serving. This resting period will help to intensify the flavors. The longer it sits, the better it will taste.
We hope that you will give this recipe a try. Do let us know, how it turned out. Enjoy!
Pearl Couscous Tabbouleh
Ingredients
Couscous
- 1-1/2 cup Pearl Couscous
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1-3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Tabbouleh
- 2 bunch curly parsley remove thick stems & chop
- 1/3 cup fresh mint finely chopped
- 2 large tomatoes deseed & dice
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper
- 1/2 cup scallions thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large lemon
- 1 tsp Kosher salt or per taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or per taste
Instructions
Couscous Preparation
- To a medium saucepan, add olive oil and Israeli couscous and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Toast the couscous until it turns aromatic and lightly brown in color.
- Slowly add boiling water and salt to the saucepan and stir to combine.
- Cover the pot and cook on low heat for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. After cooking, leave the saucepan covered for another 6 to 7 minutes.
- Spread the couscous onto a large plate and let cool completely.
Preparing Tabbouleh
- Prepare the parsley and mint by cutting off the thick stems, then finely chop.
- Thinly slice the scallions. Deseed and dice tomatoes. Dice the bell peppers the same size as tomatoes and add them to a large bowl along with chopped parsley and mint.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Pour the prepared dressing into the salad and stir to combine. Taste, and adjust if necessary.
- Let the Tabbouleh salad rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving to let the flavors mingle.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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