I know I’ve already told you that Asian cuisine (and all kinds of it!) ranks among my favorite types of food, but Lebanese comes as a close second. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have two great Lebanese restaurants right by my house. My mom and I would often get it to-go, and our go-to order always had our all-time favorites: Keftedes (meatballs), Hummus, Baba Ganouj (broiled eggplant) and Tabouli.
I always looked forward to opening all the bags and digging in, as soon as the cashier would hand us our order. Unfortunately, there’s no good Lebanese restaurant here on campus for me to indulge when I find myself craving these flavors. On the bright side however, some of these dishes are easy to make at home, like the Tabouli and the Hummus for example. For those of you who haven’t heard of the former before, Tabouli is originally a fresh parsley salad, with mint, tomatoes, onions and bulgur, tossed in refreshing lemon juice and olive oil. My own version substitutes couscous for bulgur, and adds cucumbers for an extra crunch. I love to make this recipe when it’s warm and sunny outside, or when I’m in a rush and have it on-the-go, tossed in warm pita bread. My hummus recipe is tahini-free, which makes it healthier, while as creamy. It’s a delicious way to add protein to this meal, and keep you full longer. Bon appétit!
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients for the Tabouli:
- 1 bunch of fresh parsley
- 1/2 bunch of fresh mint
- 1/2 tomato
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1/4 sweet onion
- 1/4 cup dried couscous
- 2 tbsp olive oil (or as much juice as your lemon releases)
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt & pepper
Directions for the Tabouli:
- Cook the couscous. In a bowl, pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over the dried grains, and add a pinch of salt. Cover the bowl and let the couscous absorb all the water. This should take about 5 minutes only. Once the grains are tender, run a fork through the bowl to separate the clumps.
- Meanwhile, chop the herbs (without the stems), onion, cucumber and tomato very finely.
- In a large bowl, add the herbs, all the vegetables, and the grains. Toss with the lemon juice, and a good amount of olive oil. Adjust the seasoning with salt & pepper, and enjoy with warm pita bread!
Ingredients for the Tahini-Free Hummus: Adapted from Pinch of Yum
- 1 can of chickpeas
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 1/4-1/2 cup water
- salt & pepper
Directions for the Tahini-Free Hummus:
- “Peel” the chickpeas. This is the most tedious and time consuming step, but it makes for perfectly smooth hummus, without any bits of skin left. With canned chickpeas the skin should come off easily, just by pinching the edge of the bean.
- Put all the skin-less chickpeas in a food processor (or blender), with the garlic, olive oil, water, lemon juice (optional), and salt. Pulse until the mixture becomes very smooth. Here, you can add more water, or olive oil to make it even creamier. Enjoy!
TIP: If you prefer the traditional Tabouli version, you can use bulgur (a type of cracked wheat) instead of couscous, and omit the cucumber.
Temps total: 15 minutes
Ingrédients pour le Taboulé:
- 1 botte de persil
- 1/2 botte de menthe
- 1/2 tomate
- 1/2 concombre
- 1/4 d’oignon blanc
- 40g de couscous
- 2 c.s d’huile d’olive
- 1/2 citron, jus
- sel et poivre
Etapes pour le Taboulé:
- Préparez le couscous. Dans un bol, versez 60 mL d’eau bouillante sur le couscous, et ajoutez une pincée de sel. Couvrez le bol et laissez les grains absorber pendant 5 minutes. Lorsque le couscous est prêt, mélangez les avec une fourchette pour le rendre léger.
- Pendant ce temps, ciselez toutes les herbes fraîches, et émincez l’oignon, la tomate et le concombre finement.
- Dans un grand bol, ajoutez les herbes, les légumes émincés, et le couscous. Ajoutez le jus de citron, l’huile d’olive, du sel et du poivre et mélangez le tout. Dégustez ce taboulé avec une pita légèrement toastée.
Ingrédients pour le Hummus sans tahini: Adapté de Pinch of Yum
- 1 boite de pois chiches
- 2 c.s d’huile d’olive
- 1/2 c.s de jus de citron
- 1/2 gousse d’ail
- 60-120 mL d’eau
- sel et poivre
Etapes pour le Hummus:
- “Pelez” les pois chiches. Enlevez la peau de chaque pois, en en pinçant légèrement l’extrémité. Cette étape n’est pas obligatoire mais elle permet d’obtenir un hummus parfaitement lisse.
- Mettez les pois chiches dans le bol d’un robot, ajoutez l’ail, l’huile d’olive, l’eau, le jus de citron, et le sel. Mixez jusqu’à ce que le mélange soit bien homogène. Vous pouvez rajouter de l’eau, ou de l’huile, pour rendre le hummus encore plus crémeux. Bon appétit!
LE PLUS: Si vous préférez le taboulé traditionel, vous pouvez utiliser du boulgour à la place du couscous et enlever le concombre.
Reblogged this on teenstodayproject.
Thanks for posting this! These are actually my top favorite Mediterranean foods of all time!
I’m rendered slightly dazed by the thought of the chickpea-peeling, Julie. But as you promise it’s worth it … 🙂