PP Tabouli Salad
Chef: Cathy Fisher, Straight Up Food
Makes: 6 servings (makes about 6 cups)
Prep Time: 35 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Total Time: 1 hr
INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ c water
½ c dry/uncooked millet (or 2 ½ c cooked)
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans (or about 1 ¾ c), rinsed
1 ½ c halved or quartered cherry tomatoes
1 c chopped cucumber (peeled or unpeeled)
¾ c chopped fresh parsley (curly or flat Italian)
3 green onions (green and white parts)
6 T lemon juice
¼ c finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 to 2 cloves garlic, pressed (or very finely chopped)
DIRECTIONS
Bring the water and millet to a boil in a small to medium saucepan over high heat, uncovered. Reduce the heat to low, then cover and simmer for 25 min. While the millet is cooking, you can prepare the remaining ingredients.
After cooking the millet, remove it from heat and let it sit for 10 min with the lid on, then fluff it with a fork, and let cool totally or mostly.
Add the millet to a large bowl along with all the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Season with black ground pepper if desired. For the best flavor, serve chilled after 2 to 3 hours or after refrigerating overnight. Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days.
TIPS
Millet vs. Bulgur: Tabouli is traditionally made with bulgur wheat, but since I am a gluten-free recipe site, I do not use any wheat. Instead, for this recipe I use millet, but you could just as easily use 2 ½ c cooked quinoa or brown rice. If you do eat wheat and want to use bulgur, just search “how to prepare bulgur” online (couscous is sometimes used as well but is also wheat and contains gluten.)
Cucumbers: I think Persian or English cucumbers work the best for this recipe, although regular “slicing” cucumbers work, too. I just like to peel them first and take the seeds/soft center out before chopping.
How to serve Tabouli: You can eat this as a salad or as a side dish to a meal, in lettuce leaves or in steamed corn tortillas, or with falafel and hummus. (It is often served with pita bread or pita chips, but pita is made with wheat, which I do not use.)
Additions: Some fun additions or substitution ideas: chopped avocado, radish, red bell pepper, cilantro, pomegranate seeds, fresh fennel, and/or finely chopped raw cauliflower
Last Thoughts: This salad is very adjustable, so if you want more or less parsley or lemon juice, or anything else, feel free to do what you like. This recipe is usually very parsley-heavy, which I have adjusted down a bit. Also, you may be tempted to skip the mint, but it really makes the dish.
Cathy Fisher is the author of the cookbook, Straight Up Food, and has been plant-based for over 22 years. She has been a culinary instructor at the McDougall Program and the TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa, California for over 12 years. Follow Cathy on Straight Up Food, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and receive her fabulous newsletter.
