Taboule Salad (Kısır)

I have another bulgur recipe.  This one I learned when I was visiting Turkey over the summer.  It is a recipe for a salad that is common to the Middle East.  It is know as taboule or kısır in Turkey.  This is a common appetizer that you can find all over Turkey.  I took me some time to get used to the taste but once I did I found that I really enjoyed this salad.  There are a lot of varieties of this salad but some key ingredients are the tomato paste to make the salad red and freshly, chopped parsley.

It is made with extra fine bulgur and there is no cooking required to make it.  In Turkey, it is eaten as a starter dish.  You season it with fresh lemon juice and spoon the salad into lettuce leaves and eat the lettuce.  Since it is not cooked, it seems like an easy dish to make and it is!  The only challenge is that you need the spend time squeezing the bulgur in your hands until it gets soft enough to eat.  Once you get used to making this recipe, you will love it and make it again and again!   

Ingredients

2 cups, extra fine bulgur
2 cups of hot water
15-oz can of tomato paste
Small yellow onion, very finely chopped
4 peeled garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup olive oil

Lemons and Lettuce to serve

1. Combine the bulgur and the water in a large bowl.  Let sit for 5 minutes for the bulgur to soften.

2.  Begin squeezing the bulgur in your hands and try the bulgur to make sure it is soft enough to eat.  If not slowly add more water and squeeze the bulgur until it is soft.

3.  When the bulgur is soft, add the tomato paste and combine with the bulgur .

4.  Add the onion, garlic, walnuts, cumin, chili powder, parsley, olive oil and mix to combine.

5.  Serve with lettuce and fresh lemons.

Enjoy!
~Rona