Saturday, September 12, 2009

101 Uses for a Ripe Garden Tomato: #20--A Nice Middle Eastern Salad

Mmmm, tabouleh. I can't believe this is the first time I've made it this summer! Maybe because, although I have tomatoes piled up everywhere, they're mostly cherry tomatoes and our big tomato plants haven't been great producers this year. Then again, we're lucky that ours haven't been infected by late blight, as the folks on the east coast have had to suffer. (Curse you, Walmart--and other Big Box Stores!)


Try this dish. It's easy and healthy. I think you'll like it.

Tabouleh As I Make It Made It Today (Adapted from Betty Crocker's New International Cookbook)

3/4 cup bulgur (soaked in cold water for 30 minutes; drained) (For reasons I choose not to explain right now, I thought I had bulgur but didn't, so I used about 2 cups of cooked whole wheat couscous.)
1-1/2 cup snipped, chopped, or torn parsley (I used only about 1 cup, 'cause I was too lazy to snip more. Yeah, I know it's supposed to be parsley salad.)
3 medium chopped tomatoes* (drain; save juice)
1 cup chopped cucumber (my addition)
1 clove garlic, minced* (another addition of mine)
1/3 cup sliced green onions* (I used a mix of green onions & chopped leftover Walla Walla*.)
2 T chopped or snipped fresh mint* leaves or 2 tsp crushed dried mint
1/4 c olive oil & 1/ cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp ground pepper (or to taste)
Mix all ingredients. Add/delete ingredients and fiddle with amounts until you like it. Cover & refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

If you're tempted to leave out the mint because it seems weird, I encourage you not to do so. It really gives the dish a refreshing edge. Try it with maybe half or even 1/4 the mint, so if you like it you can add more. And you really should try it with fresh mint. (If you're in the Monona area, give me a yell and I'll hook you up. Or you can just come help yourself from the weeds growing in my front yard.)

Tonight, I served the tabouleh alongside roasted red pepper and eggplant dip w/ pita chips, olives, and boiled edamame.

Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant Dip
(All amounts except red pepper approximate. Ingredients/amounts subject to change next time I make it.)
2 roasted red peppers
1 roasted eggplant*, diced
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
olive oil
lemon juice
3 minced garlic cloves*
aleppo pepper, ground cumin, and salt to taste
Whiz everything together in a food processor or blender.

My Homemade Pita Chips
(Finally, a one ingredient recipe.)

Cut or tear pita chips into triangles or strips. Place chips in one layer--no touching each other--on baking sheet(s), preferably perforated. Bake at 350 degrees 10 minutes or until nice & crunchy.

* From the O-Garden

2 comments:

Pedro Garcia Millan said...
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DeviantPersona said...

My mum makes this salad at least once every week. I'm personally not a fan of salad but this is delicious.