Middle Eastern Super Salad

Faithful readers of this column will remember my recent piece about bulghar, the sister to cracked wheat. Today we profile parsley, bulghar’s partner in the fabulous Middle Eastern salad known as tabouleh.

Parsley is native to the Mediterranean. While parsley has been cultivated for more than 2,000 years, it was used medicinally prior to being consumed as a food. Although it’s a wonderfully nutritious and healing herb, as a food parsley is often under appreciated. Most people don’t realize that it can be used for more than decorative garnish, and that it’s actually a storehouse of nutrients with a deliciously vibrant taste.

The flavonoids in parsley, especially luteolin, have been shown to function as antioxidants that combine with highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules (called oxygen radicals) and help prevent oxygen-based damage to cells. In addition, extracts from parsley have been used in animal studies to help increase the antioxidant capacity of the blood. That means more of a good thing!

In addition to its volatile oils and flavonoids, parsley is an excellent source of two vital nutrients that are important for the prevention of many diseases: vitamin C and vitamin A (notably through its concentration of the pro-vitamin A carotenoid, beta-carotene). Parsley is also very high in vitamin K.

The two most popular types of parsley are curly parsley and Italian flat leaf parsley. The Italian variety has a more fragrant and less bitter taste than the curly variety. Either one can be used depending on the recipe, but one type can easily be substituted for what the recipe calls for if it’s all that’s in your fridge. Italian parsley (flat leaf) looks a lot like cilantro, however; so if you’re not sure, taste it. There’s nothing worse than spending lots of time in the kitchen on a recipe only to ruin it with the wrong ingredient. Back in my juicing phase, I would purée carrots, beets, spinach and parsley, put the mixture in an old spaghetti sauce jar and let it sit throughout the day. It was about 7 percent parsley and a great way to get veggies. When caring for your parsley, store it in a plastic bag in the fridge and do not wash it until you are ready to use it. You can dry out and save flat leaf parsley, but freeze curly leaf and put it directly in the food from the freezer.

Parsley is the most popular herb in the world, and the best recipe to highlight its taste is tabouleh. Tabouleh is a salad like no other. Made with fresh veggies, olive oil and spices, it can fill pita bread, be spread on crackers, eaten with a fork or scooped up with fresh grape leaves, as it’s often served in the Middle East. Tabouleh can be made with a variety of veggies according to taste. You can add carrots, cucumbers and/or red or green onions. I always suggest tasting as you prepare. You can also add romaine lettuce for a fuller salad.

Tabouleh

Ingredients:

2 bunches of fresh parsley (1 1/2 cups, chopped, with stems discarded)

2 tablespoons of fresh mint, chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

6 medium tomatoes, diced

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup bulghar, medium grade

6 tablespoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Romaine lettuce or grape leaves

Preparation:

Soak bulghar in water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours in cold water until soft.

Squeeze out excess water from bulghar using hands or paper towel.

Combine all ingredients, except for salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil.

Line serving bowl with grape leaves or romaine lettuce and add salad.

Sprinkle olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper on top.

Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.