Thursday, June 29, 2017

Minted Quinoa Tabouli Salad ( Tabbouleh)


beautiful summer salad in the garden

Summer has officially arrived and fresh seasonal vegetable salads are a welcome addition at any gathering. I especially love tabouli ( tabbouleh) made with lots of fresh parsley and fresh mint.

quinoa summer tabbouleh salad
Tabouli ( Tabbouleh) Salad

If you have an herb garden, belong to a CSA, or frequent local farmer's market, you will begin to see and abundance of summer parsley and fresh mint right about now . 

Both of these fragrant herbs are used in this gluten free quinoa tabouli salad along with cherry tomatoes, red onion, and kirby cucumbers.

potted herbs with garden tools

I was introduced to Middle Eastern foods like tabouli, humus, stuffed grape leaves, and falafel long before these delicious delicacies ever made their appearance on mainstream supermarket shelves.I met my husband and his family forty seven years ago, shortly after they arrived in America.



parsley in the mortar





The very first time I was invited to my husbands parent's house for dinner, my now mother in law made tabouli/tabbouleh as one of the side dishes. I was delighted with all of her unusual ( to me) recipes , but I was most intrigued with the bold colors and lemony taste of her authentic tabouli parsley salad that was a vegetarian's dream come true.

quinoa tabbouleh


I was not following a gluten free diet years ago, so I cheerfully indulged in her authentic salad made from parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, and cracked bulgher wheat. It was tastefully doused with lemon and olive oil like most of my mother in laws recipe.


summer vegetable tabbouleh

The other night, my sister in law hosted a family dinner
 and she made a gluten free version of her mother's delicious family recipe. Jocelyn substituted cooked white quinoa to replace the bulgher wheat. Truthfully, I could hardly tell the difference.



The vegan and gluten free salad was light and tastefully dressed. 
It's a nice diversion from the traditional lettuce and tomato salad.

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Author: Judee Algazi
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes for quinoa
Serves: 6 sides


Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups of cooked white quinoa, cooled to room temperature
10 cherry tomatoes , halved and then quartered
3 kirby cucumbers, peeled and chopped small
1/4 cup of finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint
Dressing:
1/4 of fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt

Directions: 
Blend the salt, mint, lemon juice and olive oil in a blender. Pour over the cooled quinoa and toss well. Place cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and parsley in a large bowl and toss until well mixed.
Add the quinoa mixture to the vegetable mixture and toss well. Chill overnight so flavors can mingle. For best flavor, serve at room temperature.


 Herbs in Other Recipes Too

1. First of all you can easily Grow Your Own Herbs on Your Windowsill or Deck 
like parsley, basil, mint, oregano, rosemary, thyme, cilantro.

2. Next, pin my Spinach/basil pesto for when the basil is plentiful- which is soon.

3.  Cool Off with our family recipe for Middle Eastern Lemonade with Fresh Mint

There is nothing like an ice cold glass of fresh lemonade on a hot day.

lemonade with mint

Do You Need  light Easy to Store Cutting Boards? These are great!

I love having color coded cutting boards. These are light yet durable and store easily. Also BPA free
Premium 4 Piece Cutting Board Set with Stand - Dishwasher Safe - Color Coded - Microban - BPA FREE

This post was shared on Beth Fish Reads ( weekend linky) and Souper Sunday linky for soup, salad, and sandwiches.


Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Amazon and if you click on a link from my blog and then buy- I do receive a small compensation which helps defray the cost and time of running this blog. I thank you for you support.

25 comments:

  1. What a lovely setting in that top picture. So pretty, cool, and summery. Your salad sounds both healthy and refreshing. Great post!

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    1. Thank you Pattie- I love the feeling of that photo too.. The salad is healthy, tasty, and easy to make

      Delete
  2. Hello, your salad looks delicious. I would be refreshing meal on a hot summer day. I am growing some mint, I love to add it to my lemonade and limeade. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eileen,
      I agree that tabouli is perfect in the summer heat! It's light and has lots of veggies- what could be better. Thanks for your comment and stopping by

      Delete
  3. I love quinoa and am always looking for different recipes - this looks perfect - delicious and simple!

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    1. I feel the same way. Quinoa is so versatile, it can be made into so many recipes. I hope you have a chance to try this fabulous tabouli salad made with quinoa,

      Delete
  4. Hi Judee! I love Quinoa and the salad looks colourful and delicious. I love your table setting as well. Thanks so much for sharing your post with us at #BloggersPitStop. I have shared on social media. Have a great week and see you at next week’s link up! Sue from Sizzling Towards Sixty & Beyond
    http://www.sizzlingtowardssixty.com.au

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue,
      Thank you . We use quinoa so the salad will be gluten free and it really has a good light taste.

      Delete
  5. Quinoa does seem like a natural substitute for bulgar wheat in tabbouleh, if you can't eat the wheat. The herbs and vegetables do dominate the flavor, don't they. I love the many ways that lemons and mint can be used in middle eastern cooking, as well as in so many other cuisines.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes,
      In our house almost everything is made with lemon and mint is a 2nd runner up.. It makes everything taste so good.

      Delete
  6. Hi Judee,

    Thanks for your comment on my Israeli Stuffed vegetables. I just replied :)

    This recipe looks fab and it was a nice read too :)

    Kind regards

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Those stuffed vegetables looked amazing. I am going to try to make the stuffed squash..

      Delete
  7. We love tabouli -- I've never tought of making it from quinoa instead of bulghar.

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    Replies
    1. Beth,
      When one is gluten free, one has to think outside of the box and find ways to adapt! Quinoa works!

      Delete
  8. Oh yum, that looks great! Quinoa is one of my favourite gluten-free alternatives :)

    Thanks for linking up at the Friday Favorites linky party!

    *Maisy

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I am grateful that quinoa is gluten free. It is so versatile and can be substitute so well.

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  9. Thank you for this recipe! I LOVE tabbouleh. I am not gluten free, per se, but try not to consume too much wheat unless it is ancient grains. This will allow me to satisfy my 'hunger' for the dish without the wheat, and I LOVE quinoa!

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    1. Yes, I was so glad that it substituted so well. You will never know the difference and this is delicious

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  10. I love tabbouleh and have made it with quinoa and you really can't tell much of a difference. This looks delicious. ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Deb,
      Thank you. It was the first time that I ever tasted it with quinoa but as you said it tastes great and you really can't tell the difference

      Delete
  11. Tabouli is one of my favorites and this is a beautiful post! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday, have a great weekend and come back soon!
    Miz Helen

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words. It seems that tabouli is a very popular recipe and many people like the twist using quinoa

      Delete
  12. I love using herbs! I know of Quinoa but have not heard of this salad. Looks yummy! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  13. This does look tasty Judee, I would love to try it :) Thanks so much for sharing your post with us at Welcome To The Weekend Blog Hop.

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  14. What a fresh sounding salad. I bet this is so lovely as a summer dish.

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