Tabouleh and homemade hummus

I’m very excited about this post as this is the food I am having almost once a week on my no meat days! It’s delicious, refreshing and nutritious at the same time.

For those of you who are not familiar with Tabouleh it’s a very sharp tasting salad originating from Middle East. The recipe is very simple and it works perfect as a part of a Mezze plate or a very simple starter for everyone to share. On this occasion I served it with mini nan breads and homemade hummus but it makes a great side dish with some cooked lamb. Sometimes I even put it in a wrap with some chicken which makes a perfect lunch meal.

Hummus is everywhere! There is loads of different flavours you can get in the shops these days. My ultimate favourite is the one with caramelised onion but I didn’t feel like that flavour would go well with the Tabouleh so for this mezze plate I made just a plain one. I have tried many recipes and with time I perfected my own which I would love to share with the world today. I think that the ultimate secret is the tahini paste (sesame seeds paste) that really adds more depth to the flavour. What I also really like is to scatter few whole chick peas on the top together with some pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients:

For the Tabouleh:
1 large bunch of parsley (roughly chopped)
1 tomato (diced)
Half of cucumber (peeled and diced)
Half of red onion (finely diced)
55 grams of Bulgar wheat
60ml of lemon juice
60ml of extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

1. In a salad bowl mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt and bulgar wheat. Set aside to soak for about 45 minutes (if you are pushed for time you can skip this step and just cook the wheat instead)

2. Chop the parsley (avoid the stems) and mix together with diced tomato, cucumber and finely diced onion. After the bulgar wheat is soaked mix everything together and season with some more salt and pepper.

For the hummus:

200 grams of tinned chick peas (drained)
Juice from half of lemon
Pinch of salt and pepper
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons of water
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
4 tablespoons of tahini paste
Handful of pomegranate seeds

Method:

1. In a food processor mix chick peas, lemon juice, water, olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic and tahini paste. Blitz until combined and creamy.

2. Taste it and if necessary add more seasoning or water if the consistency is too thick and blitz a little longer. Spoon the hummus to your choice of serving dish and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle the rest of chick peas and pomegranate seeds.

ENJOY!!!