Quinoa Tabbouleh

Shhh…. Did you hear that? The loud screams of freshness coming out from this salad.


Whenever the hubby and I go to the Middle Eastern restaurant, I usually fill myself up with pita chips, hummus, tzatziki, and tabbouleh while the hubby enjoys a few leg of lamb, lentil soup, and baklava.

By all mean, lentil soup and baklava are my favorite, too! But not so much for a leg of lamb. Yeah, I know what you are thinking. Since I don’t eat beef, the lamb meat has a pretty strong taste and smell close to beef. Though I have tried “a bite,” I had threw up because of its strong flavor that just trapped in my throat and wouldn’t go down. I bet it’s good because the hubby enjoys it so much every time. I don’t mind though because I enjoy my tzatziki and tabbluleh so much every time as well.


 And today I feel like making tabbouleh myself at home with a little extras of quinoa and cucumber to add a little more body into it. But, what did I tell ya? While making this salad and after shooting a few pictures and after I finish eating this salad, I could hear the loud screams, “oh, I’m so F-R-E-S-H” til the end of my last bite. [shhh…. I was almost licking my plate!]





 What you need:   2-4 servings

1/2 cup dried quinoa
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
2 medium Roma tomatoes, cubed
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 small/1 medium Persian cucumber, cubed
1 medium Lemon juice and zest
3-4 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
A tiny pinch of sugar


How to:

- Bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add dried quinoa, stir and low the heat to simmer. Let it cooks for 10-15 minutes with the lid cover, check and stir occasionally, until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked. Set aside and let cool completely.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine parsley, mint, onion, cucumber, and quinoa.
- Whisk lemon juice and zest, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and sugar to blend well, pour over the salad and toss to mix well.
- Leave the salad in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to set and enhance the flavor before serving

Enjoy!

 

^_^