It’s hard to go wrong with tabbouleh

As the summer ramps up and backyard barbecues begin again, it’s time to think about sides that are just a little outside the normal potato salad, pasta salad or bean salad.

Hummus and tzatziki work, especially when paired with pita bread, but when it comes to a salad, it’s hard to go wrong with tabbouleh.

If it followed the naming conventions of its pasta, potato and bean counterparts, it would probably be called an herb or parsley salad. A traditional tabbouleh is a parsley salad with some bulgur wheat added for body and crunch, with maybe some mint and cilantro to spice it up.

Many Americanized versions of the classic dish invert the normal relationship between the bulgur and herbs by making it a grain salad punctuated by parsley.

Bulgur, or bulgur wheat, is cracked wholegrain wheat kernels that are parboiled before being packaged. It is often used instead of rice, couscous or other whole grains like quinoa or barley. If you have any left over from making tabbouleh, consider it as the filler in stuffed peppers or squash, instead of rice.

It should be found in the grain section of the grocery store, near quinoa, or in the bulk section, usually at a much lower price per pound. I recently found it at a big box store, in a two-pound bag, for 83 cents a pound.

Tabbouleh is great as a side salad and it can also be eaten as a kind of dip for pita bread, like hummus. I personally enjoy paring it with lemony

chicken or eating it as I would salsa, but with toasted pita bread instead of tortilla chips.

There are a few important things to understand about making tabbouleh. First is that this recipe does not require the bulgur to be cooked. Instead, it can soak in a combination of lemon juice and cold water (a ratio of 1 to 1 or 1 to ½, water to lemon juice). I don’t mind cooking bulgur, but that’s when I want it to be fluffy, not when I want it to have some crunch.

Next are the herbs. Parsley is the main one, but cilantro, and especially mint, bring out the taste. Without them, the dish just doesn’t pop.

Finally, there are all the other vegetables. Whatever you have on hand, that tastes good raw, is a fine addition — cucumber, tomato, scallions, red onion or radishes.

The tabbouleh should sit for four hours in the refrigerator before adding salt and lemon to taste, then being served. If the tomatoes and cucumbers are not salted and drained beforehand, consider draining some of the liquid from the tabbouleh before serving.

• 1/2 cup bulgur

• 1/2 cup lemon juice (more to

taste)

• 1/2 cup cold water

• 1/4 cup olive oil (more to taste) • 1/4 teaspoon salt (more to taste) • 1 teaspoon lemon zest or one small lemon, deseeded, minced and finely chopped in a blender or food processor

• 1/2 red onion

• 3 bunches parsley, Italian, curly, or

both

• 1 bunch cilantro

• 6 mint stalks

• 4 medium, ripe tomatoes

• 1 medium cucumber

• 6 radishes

• Optional: minced garlic

• In a medium bowl, add lemon juice, bulgur and cold water. Let sit for at least four hours.

• Finely chop parsley, cilantro, tomatoes, cucumber and onion and place in a large bowl. Do not use the parsley and cilantro stalks. Add garlic, if using.

• Strip mint leaves from their stalks. Finely chop and add to other chopped ingredients.

• Finely slice radishes and either chop or keep as fine slivers. Add to other chopped ingredients.

• Zest lemon and add to herb mixture in the large bowl or deseed lemon, chop and finely mince in blender/food processor with a little added lemon juice and add to other chopped ingredients.

• Strain remaining liquid out of bulgur and add to large bowl.

• Add olive oil and salt to the large bowl and mix all until well combined.

• Taste. If needed, add more salt and/or more lemon juice and/or olive oil and mix once more.

• Serve or refrigerate and serve the following day, allowing for the flavors to combine overnight.

Yield: 12 servings

2 quarts popped popcorn, unsalted 1 can (4 ounces) flaked coconut, toasted 1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup