Tabbouleh with Garbanzos

The following recipe is taken from The Splendid Table's weekly e-newsletter.

Tabbouleh with Garbanzos

Reprinted with permission from Cooking from the Garden: Best Recipes from "Kitchen Gardener" edited by Ruth Lively (The Taunton Press, Inc., 2010). Recipe by Susan Belsinger. Copyright © 2010 by The Taunton Press.

6 to 8 servings

This is a traditional-style tabbouleh with the added flavors of garbanzos, pine nuts, and currants. It can stand on its own as a vegetarian main course served on fresh greens with good, crusty bread or warm pita, and perhaps olives and cheese. If you have them on hand, scallions are a nice substitute for the onion.

* 1-1/2 cups bulgur wheat
* 1 medium-large tomato, diced
* 1 medium cucumber or 2 pickling cucumbers, peeled and diced
* Generous 1/2 cup diced onion
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 large clove garlic, minced
* One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained or 1 cup cooked
* 1/3 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
* 1/3 cup currants, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh spearmint
* 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
* A few pinches each of cinnamon, allspice, and cayenne

Put the bulgur in a large bowl and add 1-1/2 cups boiling water. Stir and let stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour. If necessary, drain excess water from the bulgur. Add the tomato, cucumber, and onion, and season lightly with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic and stir well with a fork.

Add the garbanzos, pine nuts, and currants to the bulgur. Sprinkle with the mint and parsley and add the spices. Drizzle the dressing over the tabbouleh and toss well. Let the salad stand for about 30 minutes before serving and taste again for seasoning; you may need a little more oil, lemon juice, salt, or pepper.

The salad can be prepared in advance and kept at cool room temperature, or if refrigerated, allowed to come to room temperature before serving.
LYNNE'S TIPS

• Coarsely crushed salted almonds could stand in for the pine nuts. They cost less and there is no need to toast them if the heat and humidity outside have you avoiding the stove. And raisins, dried cranberries or dried cherries could replace the currants.

• Turn the tabbouleh salad into a sandwich by scooping some into pita bread and drizzling a little more dressing over the top.

• Give the salad an alternate identity by using the garbanzos and bulgur, but let cut up nectarines and plums replace the nuts. Keep the cucumber, mint and parsley. Yogurt goes into the existing dressing ingredients along with basil leaves, minced onion and medium hot ground chile.