Quinoa Tabbouleh: Now with Video!

If you'd like a traditional tabbouleh, please search elsewhere. I love tabbouleh, it's easy, it's one of my favorite summer salads, it's filling and refreshing. Sometimes, though, I stray from the typical tabbouleh. This one features quinoa rather than the typical bulgar wheat. I made this with leftover quinoa.

Please excuse the messy picture!

Quinoa Tabbouleh (makes about 3 C)

• 2C quinoa, cooked
• 3 large handfuls parsley, finely chopped (about 1 small bunch)
• 1/2 med cucumber, diced
• 2 small tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• juice of 3 lemons (about 6 Tbsp)
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2.Combine the quinoa, parsley, cucumber, tomato, and onion in a large bowl. Mix together.
3.Combine the quinoa mixture and the lemon juice mixture together. Allow to sit for a few hours for the flavors to develop. 


Kitchen Notes: Tabbouleh is traditionally a parsley salad with a higher ratio of parsley than grain, the grain is to absorb the juices. Folks who like a more grain based tabbouleh will need to adjust the ratio. This seems like a lot of lemon, but trust me, it works.

Verdict? I'm still salivating over my quinoa salad with lemon vinaigrette, so comparatively speaking, it was a bit bland. It was refreshing and palate cleansing, and a good meal for a hot day, but I prefer the other quinoa salad.

Update: My friend Katie sent me this hysterical link, the tabbouleh song, from the comic Remy Munasifi. If you didn't  think tabbouleh needed an anthem before, this video may make you change your mind: