My Evolving Take on Tabouli Salad

You've been forewarned: Not everything on this blog will be traditional Greek food. The best thing about Yiayia splitting her time between Greece and New York / Connecticut was that she had to learn how to use ingredients for recipes that may not be the same in Greece, hence an evolving sense of creativity and taste buds. 

Back in Greece, Yiayia makes the best salad with the 5 simplest ingredients: juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced onion, parsley, EVOO and Sea Salt. It's no joke, the best! I absolutely love salads, and the family salad has changed throughout the years. Yiayia's will always be the best, but I've learned to experiment by combining traditional, and non traditional ingredients to create whatever type of deliciousness that can be thrown into a bowl!  

One of my favorite's is Tabouli Salad. According to Wikipedia, "Tabbouleh (Arabic: تبولة‎‎ tabūlah; also tabouleh or tab(b)ouli) is a Levantine vegetarian dish traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgar, and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.". Everything listed that traditionally makes up Tabouli Salad is something I would use to create a Greek dish, so...you catch my drift? I usually lean towards essential Mediterranean ingredients in my cooking.

I have been conscious about grains and carbs, so my first evolution was to cut out the bulgar, and replace it with organic chickpeas for protein. My most recent version of this delicious, zesty salad was made even more flavorful (and colorful) by adding a handful of other essential ingredients. See below for my take on a fine Tabouli Salad recipe:

Yields 6-8 Servings

1 bunch of Parsley (stems removed, finely chopped)

1 bunch of Mint (stems removed, finely chopped)

5 Roma or Campari Tomatoes, finely diced

1 Large Yellow Onion, finely chopped

3-4 Mini Cucumbers, finely chopped

1/4 A Quarter of Red Cabbage, finely chopped

3-4 Garlic Cloves, finely minced

1 can of rinsed, low-sodium Organic Chickpeas

Juice of 2 Lemons

EVOO

Sea Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste

Optional: 1 cup of shredded, chopped Kale

Sub Chickpeas for Lentils

1. Finely chop all of the herbs, vegetables and onion and place in a mixing bowl by listed sequence 
2. Add the rinsed chickpeas and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
3. Add EVOO, the juice of two lemons and mix well

Kali Orexi!
-Sophia Eleni