Sometimes, especially on cold winter days, the thing I really want is a fresh summary salad. You know, the kind that makes your eyes a little brighter with the burst of fresh goodness going into you; the sort that makes you feel like summer might be coming soon.

I love tabouleh, and one day I decided that rather than lament the fact that I don’t get it very often, I was going to make it. The only thing was that I didn’t have couscous, which I believe is the typical grain they usually use… Instead, I had a whole bunch of quinoa that I wanted to make a point of using. So, I cooked up some quinoa, threw this together, and… WHAM! My life will never be the same. I’ve made it at least a handful of times since then, and I’m sure it’ll be coming out of my kitchen many times again in the future.
  

There is only part of this story that I don’t reflect on with satisfaction. For the particular batch in these pictures, I forgot one key and IMPORTANT ingredient… cucumbers! How?? Anyway, I did… and it was still good, but trust me it’s better with cucumbers.

I had to explain that, in case someone was inspecting my photos and thought they would mention that my recipe calls for cucumbers, but my photos display a lack. I know, it’s very sad. Please don’t make the same mistake!

Anyway, enough lamenting the cucumbers… and on with the recipe! I for one am very glad that I am writing this down because I kept being afraid that I’d forget how I made it. Well, fear no more – I measured, I documented, and now I’m posting it for you!

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Easy Quinoa Tabouleh

So quick, so fresh, and so healthy. This is one of my favourite things to make, and to eat!

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Labanese

Keyword fresh, gluten free, healthy, salad, taboule, vegan

Prep Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw quinoa
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh mint finely chopped
• 1 large bunch fresh parsley finely chopped (I used curly leaf for this recipe, but you can use either kind)
• 1 large tomato chopped into small pieces
• 1 cucumber peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 1 sm onion finely chopped
• 2 large lemons juiced
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

Instructions

1. Pour the quinoa into a small saucepan with 2 cups of water; bring to a boil, reduce to low heat, and cook (covered) until all the liquid is absorbed (about 5-10 minutes). Scrape the quinoa out of the pot onto a large plate and place in the fridge to cool.

2. Wash all of your veggies and herbs, and finely chop them all. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooled quinoa.

3. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix well. If you like a little bit more lemon or olive oil, feel free to add a little extra; sometimes the size of your vegetables will make the quantity a little different, so you may need a little extra lemon or olive oil to keep everything coated nicely.

4. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until serving.

Recipe Notes

You can make this recipe in advance by a few days, but it's best not to leave it in the fridge too long. I like to make it either the day I'm going to serve it, or the day before.

To wash your herbs, I like to unbind the bundles (remove the rubber bands or tie twists keeping them together), and submerge them. in a bowl of cold water. This allows me to separate the stalks a little bit as I wash them, and encourages any dirt left on the leaves to sink to the bottom of the bowl, leaving the herbs nice and clean. I once made this recipe without doing that... I washed the bundles under running water, and I was very dismayed to find that my tabouleh had a little extra "crunch" than I wanted... Don't let this happen to you!

 

So fresh, so easy, and SOOOO delicious. I did choose this as my birthday dinner one year, not even joking. It’s so good. Enjoy!

Back soon!
Naomi

P.S. If you make this, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Tag @naomicakesofficial – I will be so excited to hear how yours turned out!