Tabbouleh

So I’ve decided to do a little (sub)urban gardening this summer, and, assuming my plants would grow like everything else I attempt to nurture,  I thought that I might get possibly one pepper and maybe a frawn of parsley or something. But no. My little garden plot, which is about a foot in diameter, is out of control. In that little circle, I planted some rainbow chard, onions, an eggplant, a cauliflower, two lettuce varietals, (since discarded for bolting and therefore becoming narcotic) two tomato plants, and a pumpkin. All of these plants are doing extremely well, and luckily I had to pull out the lettuce to make some space.

I also have an herb pot growing basil, rosemary, a pepper, and parsley. Again, every basil plant I’ve ever grown in my life has died a sad and horrible death, usually plagued with black spots, dead leaves, yellowed stems, and various other deformities which lead me to question Joni Mitchell’s commitment to spots on her apples (just leave her the birds and the bees, please.)

I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when I’ve now sautéed several batches or chard, my tomato plants are falling over with lush green bulbs, and the pumpkin vine is about to entangle my neighbour’s dog with Nightmare Before Christmas ferocity. And the parsley. SO. MUCH. PARSLEY.

Parsley is great to have on hand. It steps up your garnish game immensely. The trouble is, of course, is what to do with giant bushels of it. I like sprinkling on my pasta as much as the next person, but what with all this basil I have, I don’t really need another herb competing for flavour in my pesto. In comes a brilliant friend who suggested I make tabbouleh. WELL OF COURSE.

Brilliant! I love tabbouleh. I usually get it from the Lebanese man at the local shawarma shop, who calls me “Sweet Baby,” and with whom I have a serious flirtation. There is much love between us and I always get extra garlic sauce for free from him (I’m sure as a tricky tactic to keep other suitors away from me.) So anyway, as much as I love my shawarma provider, it might not be the worst idea to lay off the garlic sauce for a while. (I recently joined Tinder, obvs.)

So it turns out to be super easy to make- especially if you have parsley plants threatening to take over your balcony. You’ll need:

-       2 bunches parsley, finely chopped

-       Half a red onion, finely chopped

-       1 large tomato, finely chopped

-       1 cup bulgur, pre soaked (Ugh, how annoying is pre-soaking, right? Actually not that annoying with bulgur. It’s only 1 part billing water to one part grain, soaked for an hour. Or just cook it. Whatever.)

-       1 small bunch mint, finely chopped

-       ½ cup olive oil

-       Juice of 1 lemon

-       Cumin, salt, pepper to taste

Now the easy part! Chop everything small. Put it all in a bowl. Stir. Serve.

Even tastier over night!