Tabouli is a Middle Eastern dish that I became aware of at a party given by some friends, who had it catered from a Middle Eastern restaurant.  I immediately loved the creamy texture of this salad, with the delicate flavors of the tomatoes and spring onions.

This salad is great for summer picnics, barbeques – it can be served as a side dish, or as an alternative dip for chips.

I also like this wrapped up in thin slices of roast beef, or leaves of lettuce for an easy lunch.

I usually prepare this in the traditional way, with slight variations when I feel the need. I sometimes add in finely chopped red peppers, or hot peppers.  And I’ve made this without mint or parsley – This is great with basil, or with cilantro.  The cilantro version is fantastic with refried beans, or as a topping with tortilla soup.

Fine Bulgur Wheat	Couscous
Quinoa	Pastina

I tend to use instant couscous, instead of bulgur, because of the ease of prep. I’ve also tasted tabouli made with quinoa, as well as pastina, giving the salad a different flavor and texture.

Enjoy!

Tabouli

2 cups fine bulgur (or use couscous)
2 cups very hot water
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 Red onion (Or, for traditional, use Scallions)
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped fine
2 cups fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 clove of garlic, minced fine (you can leave this out 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground

If you are going to use the bulgur, soak it in the hot water for about 30 minutes, and then drain.  If it is overly wet, squeeze dry.

If you are going to use couscous, prepare as directed — usually 1 cup of water to 1 cup of couscous.  Bring the water to boil, add the couscous, and remove from the heat, allowing it to sit for about 5 minutes.

Combine the couscous, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, mint and parsley together.  In another bowl, combine the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and then mix together with the couscous-vegetable mix.

Refrigerate, and allow the flavors to meld for about 2 hours.

You can serve this either chilled, or at room temp.  Keeps for 3-5 days, refrigerated.

Buckwheat Pasta

1 Cup Gluten Free Flour
1/4 cup  buckwheat flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon oil
Water as needed

Mix the flours together.  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and oil together, and add to the flour, mixing well.  Add water as needed — you basically need to add enough water so the pasta can be rolled out.  If it is too dry, it will crack, and if too wet, it’s too sticky to use. If it’s too dry, add more water.  If it is too wet, add more flour.

Roll out the dough on a flour covered surface until it is about 1/8th an inch thick, using flour as needed.  Cut into long strips, or into the shape pasta you prefer.  If you have a pasta machine, roll and cut into the desired shape.

If you are going to cook this right away, know that the cooking time of the pasta is about 2 minutes.

If you are going to store this for later use, refrigerate the shaped pasta in a ziplock or plastic bag.

Gluten Free Bread

1 cup of brown rice flour
1 cup almond flour
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice
1 – 1  1/2  cups warm water

Mix together in the dry ingredients, using a whisk to mix well.  In a second bowl, mix the eggs, honey, oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and the first cup of water.

Mix until it is thick — should be as thick as pancake mix.  Add additional water as needed to reach the “pancake mix” consistency.

Grease and flour a bread pan, and pour the mixture into it, allowing it to rise for about 45 minutes, or until it is about 3/4 of the pan high.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees F, and bake for about 30 minutes or so.

Notes:

• Mark also uses this recipe to make pizza.  It’s been a while, and he isn’t around to ask, but I know from my notes on this recipe that he added a bit of extra oil to the batter, and then oiled the baking pan quite a lot., allowing the dough to rise sightly before baking at 400, for 10-12 minutes.
• Add dried fruits, nutmeg, cinnamon (re-hydrate the fruit slightly by soaking these in very hot water for about 5-7 minutes).
• Add cinnamon and raisins, or cinnamon and dates (doing the same to the fruits..re-hydrate slightly by soaking these in very hot water for about 5-7 minutes.