To keep that summer vibe lingering for longer, try Kirstie Allsopp’s recipe for tabbouleh.
It is one of her all-time favourite dishes and features in her cookbook, Kirstie’s Real Kitchen.
She says it’s easy to mix your own spices for the recipe: “Simply use a pinch each of coriander, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg to make a teaspoonful of flavouring.”
Tabbouleh
Equipment
- Small bowl
- Sieve
- Sharp knife
- Large serving bowl
- Fork
Ingredients
- 25 g bulgur wheat
- 50 ml boiling water
- 300 g ripe tomatoes
- 2 large bunches of flat-leaf parsley
- small bunch of mint
- 6 spring onions
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp mixed ground spices
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- 8 small Romaine or Little Gem lettuce leaves at least 8
- 4 ready-made flatbreads
Method
- Put the bulgur wheat in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Stir, then set aside for 20 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. Drain in a sieve to be sure.
- Meanwhile, use a sharp knife to remove the stalk and hard core from the tomatoes. (You can also skin the tomatoes and remove the seeds if you like, but I don’t usually bother.) Quarter what’s left, then cut into dice and put into a large serving bowl.
- Pick the parsley and mint leaves, discarding the stalks or saving them for a stock. Chop the leaves finely, and do the same to the spring onions. Add them all to the tomatoes and mix well. When the bulgur wheat has absorbed all the water, use a fork to fluff it up and separate the grains. Add it to the tomatoes.
- Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil into the tomato mixture and season to taste with salt, pepper and your chosen spices. Mix well.
- To serve, arrange the lettuce and flatbreads on four serving plates. Offer the tabbouleh in its bowl and ask people to help themselves, scooping tabbouleh into the leaves.
Nutrition
Kirstie’s Real Kitchen by Kirstie Allsopp, photography by Rita Platts, is published by Hodder & Stoughton.Â
Try Kirstie’s blackberry and apple crumble recipe.
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