Quinoa Tabbouleh

A gluten-free take on the Levantine herb salad: quinoa in place of bulgur amid a mass of parsley, mint, tomato, and lemon

Origin: Western Europe (modern adaptation)

From the journey of Quinoa.

Quinoa tabbouleh is a modern, gluten-free reinvention of the classic Levantine herb salad, and one of the dishes that carried quinoa into the everyday cooking of Europe and the wider West. Traditional tabbouleh is, at heart, a parsley salad: a great quantity of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint, sharpened with lemon and good olive oil, dotted with tomato and spring onion, and bound with only a little fine bulgur wheat. The quinoa version swaps that bulgur for cooked quinoa, keeping the herbs in the leading role but making the dish gluten-free and giving it the complete protein of the Andean grain. Purists of the Levant may raise an eyebrow, for true tabbouleh is defined by its parsley and its bulgur, and the quinoa version is unmistakably a Western health-food adaptation rather than an authentic Beirut or Damascus dish. But it has become enormously popular on the deli counters and summer tables of Europe and North America, a bright, fresh, herb-forward salad that happens to suit modern dietary tastes, and it is among the most common ways the contemporary Western kitchen uses quinoa. The key, as with the original, is to be generous, almost reckless, with the parsley: this is a herb salad with grain through it, not a grain salad with a little herb, and the quinoa should be the lesser partner to the great green mass of parsley and mint.

Ingredients

Salad

100 g quinoa, rinsed thoroughly under cold water
200 ml water
100 g flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped (a large bunch)
20 g fresh mint, finely chopped
4 spring onions, finely sliced
3 ripe tomatoes, finely diced

Dressing

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Rinse the quinoa well, then simmer in the water, covered, for about 12 to 15 minutes until the tails uncurl and the water is absorbed. Fluff and leave to cool completely.
Chop the parsley and mint as finely as you can by hand, and slice the spring onions thinly.
Dice the tomatoes finely; if they are very wet, drain off the excess juice so the salad does not turn soggy.
Combine the cooled quinoa, parsley, mint, spring onions, and tomatoes in a bowl.
Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice with salt and pepper, pour over the salad, and toss well. Taste and adjust the lemon and salt.
Let the tabbouleh sit for 15 minutes for the flavours to meld, then serve, ideally at room temperature.

Notes

Authentic tabbouleh is made with bulgur, not quinoa, and far more parsley than this if you wish to be faithful to the Levantine original. Use the freshest flat-leaf parsley and ripe summer tomatoes. A little finely diced cucumber or a pinch of ground allspice are pleasant additions. Naturally vegan and, with quinoa, gluten-free.

The Gastrographer

Name: Quinoa Tabbouleh
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Western Europe
Ingredients: 100 g quinoa, rinsed thoroughly under cold water; 200 ml water; 100 g flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped (a large bunch); 20 g fresh mint, finely chopped; 4 spring onions, finely sliced; 3 ripe tomatoes, finely diced; 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 3 tbsp lemon juice; salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control