Tabbouleh with goat's cheese
Tabbouleh is a classic Middle Eastern salad made with bulghur wheat. While the wheat is soaking, you have just enough time to chop the vegetables and herbs, and make the dressing. Serve with lavash or pitta bread.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 280 g (10 oz) bulghur wheat
- 1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
- 20 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 10 cm (4 in) piece of cucumber, seeded and chopped
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 5 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- 1 small fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
- 200 g (7 oz) rindless soft goat's cheese, crumbled
- salt and pepper
- Lemon and cumin dressing
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 1 small garlic clove, very finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- To serve
- lettuce leaves
- 12 radishes, sliced
Method
Prep:30min ›
Ready in:30min
- Put the bulghur wheat in a mixing bowl, pour over enough boiling water to cover and stir well. Leave to soak for 15–20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. Whisk together the cumin, garlic and lemon juice in a small bowl, then whisk in the olive oil.
- Drain the bulghur wheat in a sieve, pressing out excess water, then return it to the bowl. Add the pepper, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, carrot, parsley, coriander and mint, plus the chilli, if using. Pour the dressing over the top and season with salt and pepper to taste. Fold gently to mix well.
- Arrange the lettuce leaves on 4 plates or a serving platter. Pile the bulghur salad on the leaves and sprinkle the goat's cheese over the top. Garnish with the radishes and serve.
Plus points
Bulghur wheat is a good, low-fat source of starchy (complex) carbohydrate. Because it retains the particularly nutritious outer layers of the wheat grain, it contains useful amounts of B vitamins, particularly B1. * Goat's cheese is a tasty source of protein and calcium and lower in fat than cheeses such as Cheddar and Parmesan.
Some more ideas
Use feta cheese instead of goat's cheese. * For an apricot tabbouleh side salad, mix the soaked bulghur wheat with the yellow pepper and red onion, plus 4 chopped celery sticks and 115 g (4 oz) snipped, ready-to-eat dried apricots (omit the other vegetables and the herbs, as well as the goat's cheese). Add ½ tsp ground cinnamon to the dressing. * For a spicy tabbouleh with chicken to serve 6, replace the goat's cheese with 2 cooked skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 280 g (10 oz) in total, cut into cubes. Mix the soaked bulghur wheat with the chicken, pepper, onion, carrot and parsley (omit the other vegetables and herbs). For the dressing, gently warm 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a small frying pan with 1 finely chopped garlic clove. Add ½–1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander, dry mustard and curry powder, and continue cooking for 1 minute. Stir in 2 tbsp lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir gently to combine. Garnish with sliced cucumber rounds.
Each serving provides
B1, B6, B12, E, niacin * A, B2, C, folate, calcium, copper, iron * potassium
