Lebanese Tabbouleh Salad

I feel blessed to be married into a Leb- anese family simply for their incredibly healthy cuisine! I have finally learned how to make tabbouleh salad which is a staple in Lebanon. To this recipe, I added quinoa instead of traditional bul- gur wheat. The main base of this salad is parsley, which is high in antioxidants and acts as a diuretic—perfect for relieving bloat.

INGREDIENTS

» 6 cups of curly parsley, chopped fine
» 4 small-medium tomatoes, minced fine 
» 1⁄2 small white onion, chopped fine
» Juice from 3 lemons
» 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
» 2 Tbsps cooked quinoa
» 1 tsp sea salt
» Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Wash the parsley well and lay it flat to dry. Once the parsley is dry, gather
into bundles and tie the stems with an elastic band to secure into a bouquet. Chop each parsley bouquet very fine. For this salad, it is important that each ingredient is chopped fine and not left in large chunks. Place the chopped parsley in its own mixing bowl to prevent it from getting wet from the following ingredients.

Next, wash the tomatoes and chop them fine. Keep the juice from the to- matoes, as this will give flavour to the salad. Place the chopped tomatoes into another mixing bowl. Then chop the onions and place into the same bowl as the tomatoes.

Add the parsley into the mixing bowl with the onions and tomatoes and add the quinoa. Pour the olive oil on top, followed by the lemon juice and salt and pepper. Mix well and serve with romaine lettuce.

More recipe inspiration: Maybe have the salad with this chickpea and Garam Masala stew!

Nutritional information per serving: Calories 150; Fat 11g; Carbohydrates 11g; Protein 3g

MAKES 6 | TAKES 30 MIN