Traditional tabouleh is made with cracked wheat (burghul) and loads of parsley. I like to do things unconventionally — hence the quinoa and coriander. Trust me, it’s a sensory bomb of colours, flavours and textures.
And just check out the pistachios. Aren’t they beautiful? These pistachios are Aussie grown and organic. I bought them at the farmers’ market from the guys at Happy Fruit. (The chemical-free currants in the dressing are also from Happy Fruit.)
Recipe
Serves 8, as a side
A dressing with flavours of the Middle-east
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
- ¼ cup (60 ml) cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste
- 1 tsp maple syrup or honey (optional)
- ½ tsp sea salt
Lightly dry roast cumin in a pan, and then grind in a mortar and pestle. Pour the ground cumin in a glass jar and add the remaining ingredients. Shake well and set aside for the flavours to marry while making the salad.
Tabouleh
- 2 cups quinoa, thoroughly wash and drained
- 1 large pink blush grapefruit, peeled, pith removed & finely chopped
- 1 large bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1 medium red onion, finely diced
- 3 tbsp currants
- ½ cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
- sea salt, to taste
Cook quinoa in a 3½ cups water (or homemade vegetable stock) — bring to boil then let it simmer until all water is absorbed. This will take about 15–20 minutes.
(Prep the other salad ingredients while the quinoa is cooking.)
Tip cooked quinoa in to a large salad bowl and allow to cool.
Once the quinoa has cooled, add in remaining salad ingredients, and stir in the dressing. Adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve with anything you like. Some suggestions are pan-grilled haloumi, roast meat, and soft-boiled eggs rolled in dukkah.
Lesh Karan 
oh YUM! I’m so excited to try this. I’ve made a dressing with cumin and maple syrup before and it was so delicious. Coriander, pink grapefruits, pistachios and quinoa are favourites for me!
Yay! That dressing is so good! Sounds like this tabouleh will be a favourite of yours, since it has some of your favourite ingredients 🙂 Let me know how you go. Happy Christmas, hun xx
This looks an awesome recipe to make for a summer bbq – I’m thinking this would be delicious for Christmas 😀
Definitely delicious, Sig, and perfect for a summer bbq 🙂 Did you make it? x
hi Lesh,
I made this yesterday, it was lovely. I had to make a couple of
alterations – using the rolled quinoia instead of the whole was a mistake, but otherwise I found the salad had a lovely satisfying sweetness and complexity of flavour, and will definitely try again. thankyou !
Meredith.
Hey Meredith, thanks for trying put the recipe. Definitely use cooked whole quinoa next time, the flaked/rolled quinoa is not suited for this recipe. Or you cooked use any other cooked grain, such as cooked freekah or cows cows (neither are gluten free), or cooked brown rice or buckwheat groats for gluten-free options. L x
hi Lesh,
thankyou for this, and also for directing people
effected by grief to the websites you recommend.
Although personally I have adopted the not so
healthy approach of not having any words for
anything dealing with my own personal situation,
the Christmas season is certainly very confronting
on many levels. Thank you for all your lovely recipies
throughout the year, and best wishes on your own
personal journey.
kind regards, meredith.
Thank you Meredith, all the best to you too. Warmest, Lesh
I made this dish today withbtri colour quinoa and it was delicious. I added a extra, raw beetroot to it and it worked well. I am currently fasting the month of ramadan so i had this as my main meal with halloumi. Great nutrionally balanced dish and easy to eat as when fasting it can sometimes be difficult to eat a meal. I am excited to try out some more of your recipes.