I love Tabbouleh. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a middle eastern dish, some call it a salad. It's SO fresh and smells amazing. When I eat it I just feel the nutrients and live enzymes it has....it's one of my favorites. I have made it for years and have tried many different versions. The classic real Tabbouleh made with bulgar wheat is delicious. I've made the same recipe with quinoa and this did not turn out well. It was "gummy"...yuck.)
Since living a Paleo lifestyle nowadays, I just leave the grains out! I add riced cauliflower, which gives it amazing texture.I'm so excited, because what I love about Tabbouleh...the wonderful flavor... is still in this dish.
I actually don't often follow a recipe for this one. I just pull out the things that I used to put in my classic Tobbouleh, plus some extras. Here's what I use....
Grain-Free Tabbouleh
This Paleo version of Tabbouleh is just as delicious as the original. It smells so fresh...it's one of our favorites in our house!
Recipe Type: Side Dish or Salad
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Author: Happy WifeStyle
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of Italian (flat leaf) parsley, minced (see blog post for a trick on an easy way)... I like to add some minced mint too...it's delicious.
- 3 radishes, chopped finely
- 2 green onions, finely sliced
- 1/2 of a large english cucumber, finely diced
- 1 lemon, about 2 Tablespoons fresh juice
- about 1/2 tsp lemon zest, from the lemon above
- about 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- sea salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp...you can also use Kosher salt)
- pepper to taste (about 1/8 tsp)
- handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped in quarters
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- about 2-3 cups "riced" raw cauliflower. (Chop into florets and pulse in a food processor until the consistency of rice)
Instructions
- Add all chopped ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine.
- Whisk together the lemon juice, zest, olive oil, salt & pepper.
- Pour dressing over the top and toss to coat.
- Serve immediately or chill to let flavors combine.
- Add lemon juice and salt to taste before serving.
Here's how I prepare my parsley... Wash it, pat dry. Cut off the end of the bunch that doesn't have leaves. I take the time to roughly pick the leaves from the stems. Like this...
Put all of the leaves in a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup and chop it up with sharp kitchen scissors. Just cut away!!!
It will reduce down to this when it's minced....
I then put it on a cutting board and run my chef knife through it a few times to make sure it's nice and finely minced.
Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper. Put all the remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix together. Pour the dressing over the mixture and toss to coat. Take a whiff of that FRESHNESS!! I like to chill it for a bit... this also lets all the ingredients blend together;) Add more salt and lemon to taste.
You can serve this on it's own, in cabbage or lettuce cups, or alongside my Killer Curried Chicken Thighs. You could even add some chopped rotisserie chicken right in there for a complete meal...Mmmm. Enjoy!!