Tabouleh in Tomato

There are many different recipes for taboubleh (amlost as many as there are ways to spell tabouleh !), and, I swear, every restuarant I go to has a different version as well. Some are mostly bulgar wheat, with a smattering of parsley and vegetables; Others are mostly parsley with a smattering of bulgar wheat and vegetables. In my version, I retain enough wheat and parsley to keep the character of the dish, but emphasize the vegetables so it plays more like a real salad. The result is awesome – full flavored, with textures not normally found in a salad. Not only is this stuff good on its own, but I will also use it as a vegetable topping for burgers and sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 4 large tomatoes, uniformly sized
• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
• 1 cup prepared fine to medium bulgar wheat
• 4 roma tomatoes
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1 large lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

Start by preparing the bulgar wheat, either by soaking it, or cooking it accordung to package instructions. You want the wheat to come out nice and fluffy. You may use chicken broth instead of water for the preparation.

Now prepare the tomatoes to be used as the ‘bowl’ for the tabouleh. Slice a quarter off the top of the tomato, and using a melon baller, scoop out the inside without going all the way through the outer flesh. Carefully slice just a little off the bottom of the tomato, again without going all the way through the flesh, so the tomato shell will stand upright on a plate.

Next, prepare the vegetables. Remove the stems from the parsley and coarsely chop it up. For the red onion, chop in a medium-fine dice. For the roma tomatos and cucumber, you will chop them to about the same size as the onion, BUT before chopping, remove the inner pulp and seeds from both of them. This is very important – if you forget to do this, your tabouleh will have too much liquid and will end up quite mushy- very bad !

In a bowl, mix together the prepared wheat, the parsley, and the chopped vegetables. Mix throughly to achieve uniform distibution. Juice the large lemon into the mix, then add the olive oil and the spices. Again, mix well.

Let the salad sit for about an hour in the refigerator, to allow for chilling and melding of flavor.

Spoon the salad into your hollowed out tomatoes and serve, still chilled. Any leftovers, may be used for burger or sandwich topping.

Baked Kibbeh in Onions

Since my days in Tallahassee, eating at Mounir’s restaurant, I have loved the Lebanese dish of kibbeh. I have had it fried, baked in a dish, or even raw, but baked is my favorite way. In this preparation, I was trying to amp up the presentation and enhance the flavor by stuffing the kibbeh in whole onions. The result was just like I was looking for.

Ingredients

• 4 large white onions, uniformly sized
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 2/3 cup prepared fine to medium bulgar wheat
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (use what you scoop out of the white onions)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 5 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Olive oil
• Chopped parsley (for garnish)

Prepare the bulgar wheat, either by soaking it water for several hours, or cooking it according to package instructions.

Next, prepare the onions. Chop off the top 1/4 of the onion and discard. Carefully shave off a little of the bottom of the onion so that it is flat, and will stand up in a pan. Remove the dry outer skin of the onion, but do not go too deeply. Using a melon baller, scoop out the interior of the onion (reserving 1/2 cup for the lamb). Try to leave 2 layers of the onion for the shell. Lightly oil the outside of the onions with olive oil.

Now make the kibbeh. In a mixing bowl, add the lamb, and all the remaining ingredients, and knead together, as you would a meatloaf. Make sure the mixing is complete, and the ingredients are well dispersed.

Using a spoon, stuff the onions with the kibbeh mixture, forcing it down with the spoon, so the onion is completely filled. Overfill the onion, so there is some kibbeh popping out of the top.

Oil a baking pan, and set the filled onions on it. Drizzle easy one with a little extra olive oil to keep the top of the kibbeh from drying out. Bake the onions for 1 hour in a 350 degree oven. When done, serve with chopped parsley, for garnish.