There is a mystique around the preparation of this famous salad. I watched my friend Kamal make it in Beirut, and his main tip was that you must slice, not chop, the parsley, so that it does not get crushed and mushy. Use the fine-ground bulgur, which is available in Middle Eastern stores. These stores and Asian ones also sell parsley in tied bunches that weigh between 7 ounces and 10 ounces with stems. Mix and dress the salad only when you are ready to serve.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　Large bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 1/2 pound) (3 to 4 cups of leaves, loosely packed)

　　Bunch of mint (about 3 ounces) (1 1/2 cups of leaves, loosely packed)

　　1/3 cup fine-ground bulgur

　　Juice of 2 lemons

　　14 ounces firm ripe tomatoes, finely diced

　　6 scallions, thinly sliced

　　5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　Salt and black pepper

　　1 romaine or 2 Little Gem (baby romaine) lettuces

　　

Step 1

Keeping the parsley in its bunch, wash it by holding the stems and plunging the leaves in a bowl of water. Shake the water out and leave it to dry on a cloth. Holding the bunch tightly with one hand on a chopping board, slice the leaves with a very sharp knife as finely as you possibly can. Wash and slice the mint leaves in the same way and add them to the parsley.

　　

Step 2

Rinse the bulgur very briefly in a strainer under cold running water, then press out the excess water. About 20 minutes before you are ready to serve, mix the bulgur with the lemon juice and chopped tomatoes so that it softens in their juices.

　　

Step 3

Just before serving, mix all the ingredients gently together. The traditional way of eating tabbouleh is to scoop it up with romaine lettuce leaves cut in half or the leaves of Little Gem lettuces. Serve the leaves separately, or stick them in the bowl around the salad.

　　Cooks' Note

　　If you cannot get fine-ground bulgur you can use the usual medium-ground one, in which case it will need to soak in water for 20 minutes.

　　Arabesque