Tracing the roots: tabbouleh salad, revisited

Ok, ragazzi, can we have a show of hands:  how many of you saw the words "tabbouleh salad" and thought "OMG.  I haven't thought about tabbouleh salad since the 80s.   Or the 70s."  Remember those days, ragazzi?  Was it possible to go to a potluck and not encounter one?  Annalena even had a piece of kitchen stoneware that was called a tabbouleh bowl.  It didn't look too different from any other serving bowl, but she was told that it was designed for serving tabbouleh especially.

Are there some heads shaking in assent?  Well, now comes the question:  what happened to tabbouleh?  Did it in fact go the way of quiche, or fondue pots, or any of those other foods that we all associate with a "period?"  Come on , ragazzi,  you know some of them don't you?  Spinach dip.... chex mix.... Hmmmm.  Is Annalena hitting a nerve or  two?    On some of them (onion soup mix dip, or spinach dip, or chex mix), Annalena understands.  On others,  like quiche, Annalena suspects that they just got too "clever," and we weren't interested anymore.  There are still too many bad quiches out there.

That's probably what happened with tabbouleh.  It is, essentially, a blank slate, and so much can go in, that perhaps too much DID go in.  Too much olive oil.  Too much "stuff."

Well, let's bring it back.  It's a good dish.  Warmer weather is coming, and ragazzi, you MUST start making this.  You can make it ahead of time, it makes tons, it is wonderful at room temperature, and it tastes very light.   Does this say "summer" or not?    Here's one that Annalena made just this week, to serve with some fish.   Do it this way, or do your own version, but please, let's bring this one back.

First, the essentials:  you need bulghur wheat.  If you garden, you are going to think it looks like vermiculite.  It's light, soft, and it blows away.  It's cracked wheat, and Annalena understands it to be a basic food substance for a great part of Africa.  You probably need to go to a health food store to get some.  To make enough for four, as a side dish, all you need is a cup of the stuff.  Put it in a pan and stir, at medium heat, for 3 minutes, without stop, to toast it.    Then immediately pour it into a cold bowl, and put it aside, whilst you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In this one, what you want to do is chop up half a cup of dried apricots.  Also, you will want about a third of a cup of pistachio nuts, toasted, salted or not.    Now, the herbs.  Tabbouleh may be synonymous with parsely, and indeed, you will want about a cup, maybe more, of chopped parsley.  And about a third each of  cilantro and mint.  You can vary the proportions or change the secondary herbs, but make sure you use that parsley.  Mix that all up and put it aside.

In the pan where you toasted the wheat, add a chopped onion, and three chopped garlic cloves, with two tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook them until they just soften.

While this is happening, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.    When it's ready, turn off the heat on both the water and the pan with the onion/garlic, and stir in the bulghur wheat.  Pour in the water, cover it, and put it aside for about ten minutes.  Add the apricots, and half of the pistachios,  and cover it again.  After all of the water has  been absorbed (it will take about an hour), add the herbs.  Taste everything for seasoning, but you're going to get another chance to season, right now.

Tabbouleh needs dressing.  Squeeze two lemons.  Scrape the peel if you like, but  remember it will make the dish VERY lemony, and Annalena doesn't recommend this.  Slowly dribble half- 3/4 cup of olive oil  (the good stuff), into the lemon juice.  If you felt your tabbouleh was underseasoned, add some salt and pepper here.  Now, mix those chopped herbs in, and then the dressing.   If you're not serving this until later, wait with the dressing. Annalena thinks it's better that way.  And, finally, add the rest of the pistachios for some crunch.

You will get little bits of flavor from the variou add ins, but ultimately, you will go back to the elemental, almost earthy taste of the wheat.  And that is how it should be.

Start getting ready ragazzi, summer's coming.  There are parties. Volunteer to bring the tabbouleh.  Don't be surprised if your host or hostess says "Oh, is he visiting from the Mideast?"