When I was younger I did not like tabouli but I believe it was because I was a bit sensitive to the strong taste of parsley and mint.  But… I now love falafel, hummus, tahini sauce, and tabouli. Which is exactly why I go to Fafafel King at lunch or Rami’s for dinner. Since I’m trying to save some extra money (and calories by having it portion controled) I have been getting a prepared meal from Trader Joe’s called “Mideast Feast”. For $5 it is okay, not great, but okay. Well yesterday’s lunch was AWFUL. the hummus was bland and too smooth, the tabouli was all parsley and not salted at all, and the falafel was extra dry. Woes me. So half my lunch went directly into the trash.

 

I decided that I would make falafel, hummus, and tabouli from scratch to make a good dinner and learn how to make all of those things. Well, the tabouli and  roasted red pepper hummus were successful but the baked falafel falls into the category of better luck next time. There was nothing wrong with the recipe or the fact that I baked it instead of frying the pieces. The mishap came down to the fact that I don’t own a food processor so I substituted with my Magic Bullet. This has worked in the past but not for the falafel. Let my failure teach you!

 

Well the tabouli came out really well. I made it last night, purposefully allowing the flavors to meld together for a full day. Tabouli is really simple to put together. While the cracked wheat is absorbing the water cut all the veggies and herbs to toss together later. The hardest part is all the mincing, ooo really hard. I like tabouli, and most other things, with a lot of lemon so I used 2 lemons for my batch.

Tabouli

adapted from Food Network

2 cups water

2 cups fine cracked wheat

1 large bunch of cup fresh parsley leaves, minced

1 medium red onion, minced

3 tomatoes, seeds removed and diced

1 large english cucumber, diced

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of 2 lemons, or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

 

 

In a large bowl combine the cracked wheat and water. Set aside 20 minutes, or until the wheat has absorbed the water.

Once the water has been absorbed, add in parsley, onion, tomatoes, and cucumber toss together.

Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Adjust to taste.