| Tabbouleh is undoubtedly the most popular Lebanese salad, the word tabbouleh comes from the Arabic word Mtabali which means seasoned. With its vibrant colors, tabbouleh claims the honor of being Lebanon's national dish.
The methods of making tabbouleh vary according to regional or family traditions, but the basic ingredients are always parsley, mint, tomato, burghul (cracked wheat), onions, olive oil, lemon and salt. Like the Lebanese flag, the basic ingredients and colors never change: the green, red and white are always present.
There are two secrets to a truly refined and crunchy bowl of tabbouleh. The first secret lies in the freshness of the ingredients. Vegetables that are grown in season and mature on their mother plant have better flavor than those grown in greenhouses.
In the old days tabbouleh was a seasonal dish, mostly eaten on Sundays and picnics during the spring and summer seasons. Nowadays, tabbouleh can be made on daily basis and on any occasion, since parsley and mint are available in abundance throughout the year.
Parsley and mint seeds are usually planted at the beginning of spring and harvested throughout the summer season. In the old days, every home had a small planting area, called the maskabeh, around the house to grow the parsley. The seeds would be sprinkled on the soil and then covered with cloth made from a special perforated material called jumfays, to prevent ants from stealing the seeds. The perforations in the cloth also allowed the seeds to acquire the right amounts of sunshine and water required to grow. Once the seeds begin to sprout they are left uncovered. The first harvest of parsley and mint, or jammeh as they call it in Lebanon, is usually weak, however, following each picking period the parsley and mint become stronger and bushier.
The second secret to making the tabbouleh lies in the way the ingredients are chopped. May Boutrous from Chiah, one of the winners of the tabbouleh competition, recommends starting the chopping with the parsley and mint.
"The tomato skin will dull the knife blade and a dull knife will bruise the parsley and mint rather than cut them. Bruised parsley and mint become bitter and will spoil the tabbouleh,” explained Boutrous. In order to produce the required hair thin and crisp slivers of parsley and mint, the leaves should be chopped “with minimum bruising", Boutrous continued.
Next comes the chopping of the tomato, which according to Boutrous is not easy to do if the aim is to produce tiny cubes of tomatoes. The onion chopping is usually left until the end, half an hour before serving the tabbouleh; the same method used in chopping the tomatoes is repeated.
"To produce my fantastic tabbouleh, I resort to the old fashioned way of hand chopping. Food processors should never be used the only result is a soggy and bruised mixture," she clarified. The amounts of burghul, spices and seasonings used to produce the dish alter from home to home and village to village.
There are many choices on how to flavor your tabbouleh. “I learned from my mom to use little burghul, pure olive oil, lemon zest and red hot chili pepper to spice up my tabbouleh…some people add small amounts of pomegranate sauce- dibs el rumman- while others add cinnamon. It all depends on personal preferences," Boutrous stated.
Tabbouleh has long been a source of energy for the Lebanese. Kamila Kawsam from Bint Jbeil, South Lebanon, the second winner in the tabbouleh competition, explained that in the days of her grandfathers meat was not plentiful.
“Before going out in the fields farmers needed energy to keep them fit and strong. The burghul - the nails for their knees masameer al rukab as she called it - would provide them with all the vitamins and energy they need." She further explained that during the 2006 July War some inhabitants of Bint Jbeil remained under siege for more than 15 days.
According to her, they subsisted on a plate of kamoneh made from burghul and tomatoes. "We returned to Bint Jbeil and found them healthy…they survived on burgul, tomatoes and water," Kamsam stated. She further recommends that people should preserve burgul, "if they have burgul they don’t need anything else. Burghul is a substitute for bread."
Kawsam's version of the tabbouleh or kamoneh is slightly different than the traditional one. She totally omits the parsley leaving her tabbouleh to burghul, tomatoes, kamoneh spices and olive oil. The kamoneh spices are mixed by Kawsam who explained that each household has its own secret spice mixture. "The extraordinary kamoneh I prepare lies in the secret of the spice mixture. My kamoneh has the aroma and taste of the South in it. No other flavor could replace it," Kawsam said.
Tabbouleh is the favorite salad among children and a common dish among the Lebanese, especially on Sundays. The salad is usually served first as a main component or alone with just a plate of fried potatoes. Traditionally, tabbouleh is eaten by hand scooped up with a piece of Lebanese bread, fresh vine leaves, white cabbage or Romaine lettuce
According to Kawsam, tabbouleh symbolizes friendship, unity and closeness "tabbouleh brings our family and friends together for as afternoon appetizer with a plate of homemade fried potatoes next to the vines or on the river".
Practice Making the Traditional
Lebanese Tabbouleh
2 bunches of parsley (around 150g each)
A small bunch of mint (around 75 g)
2 medium-sized spring onions or white onions
1 large red and firm tomato
1/3 cup of fine burghul
1/3 cup of olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt and pepper
Clean the parsley and sort it into bunches.
Strip off the mint leaves.
Wash the parsley bunches, mint leaves, tomato and onion, and leave them to dry.
For a non-crunchy tabbouleh version, wash and drain the burghul.
Dice the tomato and add to the burghul.
Chop the mint and parsley finely, and add to the burghul and tomato.
Finely chop the onions, rub with salt and pepper, then add to the rest of the ingredients.
Season the tabbouleh with lemon juice, olive oil and salt as desired.
Adding a finely diced green or red hot pepper is optional but gives the tabbouleh additional flavor.
The end result should be juicy, without being drenched.
Serve with fresh Romaine lettuce, white cabbage leaves, tender vine leaves, or Lebanese bread.
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