Another Kind of Tabbouleh
Make good use of the last few weeks of availability of the lovely ingredients in this salad. It’s good as a side dish with roast or grilled lamb; add some extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil or some mustard and mint sauce using the recipe given below, to complete the meal.
This recipe uses a generous amount of quinoa and so it is plenty for hungry people or it will keep well, covered, in the fridge for about 3 days. It is best to cook the quinoa well before you want to make the salad so that it has time to cool down.
You can buy fabulous organic British grown wholegrain quinoa, organic extra virgin rapeseed oil and lots of other lovely things at Hodemedods.
You could substitute pear barley for quinoa if you like but it needs at least 15 minutes more cooking time.
Tabbouleh
For 4-6
250g quinoa
500mls water
The finely grated zest and juice from a large lemon or lime
The leaves from a bunch of mint or leaves and stems from a bunch of coriander, finely chopped
2-3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
6 medium tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped or 6 spring onions, finely sliced
Sea salt flakes and black pepper if you like
A little extra virgin rapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil to serve or a spoonful of the Mint and Mustard Sauce below.
- Rinse the quinoa in a sieve under lots of cold running water and let it drain.
- Put the quinoa in a pan and add 500mls of water – the water will all be absorbed by the grains during cooking.
- Set the pan over high heat and bring to the boil.
- Stir it, lower the heat, cover the pan and cook in the simmering water for about 15 minutes. Check the progress from time to time – you may need to top up the water if it is all absorbed before the grains are cooked. They should be similar in texture to rice when they are cooked and have a delicious slightly nutty flavour.
- Set the quinoa aside to cool. You could spread it out on a tray to speed up the process.
- When the quinoa is cool, put it in a large bowl and stir in the lemon or lime zest and juice, mint or coriander, garlic, tomatoes and onion and mix it well.
- Cover the bowl and keep it in a cool place for an hour or so to let the flavours develop. Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper if you like.
- Serve with some extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil or some mint and mustard sauce on the side for people to help themselves.
Mint and Mustard Sauce
Enough for 4-6
This is especially good with grilled or roasted lamb.
4 tsp English mustard
3 tbsp vinegar – white wine, blackberry or raspberry vinegars would all work well
A small bunch of fresh mint leaves, chopped
A pinch or two of sugar to taste
Put all the ingredients together in a jar with a lid and shake well to blend everything together. Store it in the fridge until you need it. It will keep well for at least 3 days.
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