This big Hairy Bikers tabbouleh piles at least 200g of parsley onto just 50g of bulgur, with chickpeas, rocket and a tahini dressing. And it feeds 4 as a main in 30 minutes, at my estimate of 465 calories a bowl with the feta, from One Pot Wonders.
More bulgur isn’t better, because Si and Dave warn that “too much destroys the herby nature of this lovely dish”. Instead they bulk it out with chickpeas, feta, olives and pomegranate seeds, which is how it becomes what they call “a main meal salad”.
Parsley is the main ingredient here, very finely chopped by the bunch, rather than a sprinkling on top. So they say don’t be “frightened of going large with the herbs”, and I chop by knife, since a processor can bruise parsley to mush.
Hairy Bikers Tabbouleh
Description
A tahini, lemon and warm spice dressing is whisked in the bowl first, then rinsed bulgur, cucumber, chickpeas, herbs and rocket get stirred in. Then olives, pomegranate seeds and feta, if using, go on top.
Ingredients
For the dressing
For the salad
To garnish
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Put the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini and spices in a large salad bowl. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper, then whisk together.
- Rinse the bulgur: Rinse the bulgur wheat in cold water until it runs clear, then drain it thoroughly. Add it to the salad bowl, since fine bulgur needs no other preparation.
- Add the vegetables: Peel, deseed and finely dice the cucumber. Then add it to the bowl with the chickpeas, spring onions, herbs and rocket.
- Toss and taste: Stir everything into the dressing gently but thoroughly. Then taste, adding a little more lemon juice, salt or pepper if it needs it.
- Garnish: Scatter over the olives and pomegranate seeds. Then add the feta, if you’re using it.
FAQs
Do you have to cook bulgur for tabbouleh?
Not fine bulgur, because here they rinse it in cold water until it runs clear and say that’s all it needs. But their Eat to Beat Type 2 Diabetes tabbouleh soaks 30g in just-boiled water for 5 minutes, then drains it.
And for a bulgur salad rather than a tabbouleh, their Hairy Dieters harissa chicken simmers 100g for about 10 minutes.
Does tabbouleh have cucumber or onion?
This one has both, with half a cucumber peeled and deseeded, plus a bunch of spring onions. Yet their Eat to Beat version has no cucumber, using celeriac, courgettes, tomatoes and red pepper, with red onion soaked for 20 minutes.
Their Everyday Winners tabbouleh keeps the cucumber, soaks red onion in salted water for half an hour and adds dill to the parsley and mint. And none of the three puts garlic in.
Can you make tabbouleh with couscous or quinoa?
Their tabbouleh recipes all stick to bulgur, but One Pot Wonders has a spicy couscous salad with plenty of parsley and mint. And there, 100g of couscous soaks in 120ml of just-boiled water with cinnamon, allspice and oregano, then gets oranges, olives and goats’ cheese.
For quinoa, the same book has a prawn, avocado and quinoa salad, since they “really got to like quinoa” writing the Hairy Dieters books.
Is tabbouleh healthy?
Only their Eat to Beat tabbouleh gives a calorie count, 101 a serving for 4, with just 30g of bulgur and a tablespoon of oil. So celeriac and courgettes, pulsed to the size of large breadcrumbs, do the bulking instead.
This One Pot Wonders bowl is a full meal, and without the optional feta I make it about 335 calories.
What do you serve with tabbouleh?
In Eat to Beat they say it’s great on its own, with other salads or “with some simple grilled chicken”. And their Everyday Winners lamb meatballs with dried cherries and pistachios come with a herby tabbouleh on the side.
For the chicken, I’d go for their Chicken and Egg chicken shawarma, where thighs marinate overnight in lemon and warm spices. Or for a meat-free table, their One Pot Wonders halloumi tray bake comes from the same book as this tabbouleh. And I’d happily put it next to their Hairy Dieters lamb kebab, which comes in at 361 calories.
