Tabouli with Feta and Endive (Tabbouleh)
Prepping for spring with this new-found love Tabouli with Feta and Endive.
We all have those things we wouldn’t eat as a kid. Then slowly, as we bloom into maturity, our palates develop a mind of their own.
Thinking back, their were only a handful of things I would not touch when I was little: yellow squash, raw tomatoes, egg yolks, wet bananas (as in fruit salad), and tabouli.
Tabouli salad was my arch-nemesis.
I remember sitting at the dining table long after everyone else had left, refusing to each the two bites my mother required. Luckily, we had an expanding table that could hold large leaves on either end.
Underneath the joints were brackets that stuck out like little shelves. If I was very careful that no one saw, I could shovel my meal under the table onto the little shelves! Later the dog would come remove the evidence.
Unfortunately, my parents loved tabouli. Maybe the haunting memories of it have warped my reality, but it seemed to be in the fridge all the time.
Nowadays, I can’t think of what it was about tabouli, I didn’t like.
Maybe all the parsley threw me off… Or the citrus, who knows. What I can tell you is that I now love it, I crave it, and I prefer it to most any other grain salad.
The bright pop of lemon paired with the nutty essence of the bulgur wheat, and the cooling effects of mint and cucumbers are hard to beat.
Plus it holds up for days in the fridge! That means I can make a large batch, and stand with the refrigerator doors open eating it for days on end.
In fact, the only thing that could possibly make tabouli better is feta, and a bitter bite from endive leaves as is today’s Tabouli with Feta and Endive Recipe.
Either dollop the tabouli salad into the endive leaves and top with crumbled feta for a refined appetizer, or place it in a bowl and let your guests scoop their leaves ’til their heart’s content.
Authentic Tabouli (Tabbouleh) recipes are all pretty much the same: bulgur wheat, mint, parsley, cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon, olive oil.
The only real variation you’ll find is in proportion, and even that doesn’t vary much. However, if you are looking for a subtle change, try making our Tabouli with Feta and Endive. You can even try it with quinoa or whole grain couscous.
Tabouli with Feta and Endive
Ingredients
- 1 cup bulgur wheat
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 clove garlic (large), minced
- 2 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped (tops and bottoms)
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 bunch mint leaves, chopped
- 1 English cucumber, chopped
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes, quartered (or 2 large tomatoes, diced)
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 8 heads endive (small)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the bulgur wheat, lemon zest and juice, oil, cayenne, garlic and salt. Pour the boiling water over the top. Stir and allow it to sit for at least 1 hour.
- Wash the endive and cut off the bottoms. Carefully separate the leaves and set aside.
- Chop all the herbs, cucumber and tomatoes. Once the wheat has plumped up and absorbed the liquid, toss in the herbs, cumbers and tomatoes. Then salt and pepper to taste.
- You can eat the tabouli immediately, but the flavor does develop if you give it a little time to sit. Scoop into endive leaves and sprinkle each with feta.
I love taboulleh and love the idea of serving with endive!
Oh this look so good! I love all the ingredients..Really what’s not to like in this salad!! Very well done!
Oh this look so good! I love all the ingredients..Really what’s not to like in this salad!! Very well done!
This looks great
another beautiful dish. thanks, Spicy!
Looks wonderful! If this keeps for a long time in the fridge then it may be something I should try making. I’ve only had it once and that was well over 20 years ago….however I’m pretty certain if I did make it I would be the only one in the house eating it. Grumpy is really picky about grains!
Your tabouli looks fantastic! As always, beautiful clicks!
Love those little endive spears as tabouli holders. No problem with tabour here, have always loved it!
My kind of fresh healthy tasty salad and I love it on the endive leaves;-)
Where do you get endive at? I’m still confused as to what it is, but I’m super curious because I’d love to try this recipe, it looks fantastic!
I was a picky eater as a kid so like you I had those things that I would have never dared eating. But man, this tabouli looks so amazing that I could have never said no :)
colourful delicious salad
Gorgeous pics Sommer! Perhaps your kids will end up liking tabouli one day as you have!
Your tabouli sounds wonderful, especially with zucchini and cayenne pepper…I never add those! The whole dish sounds perfect!
I just adore tabouli. My mother made it all the time growing up and I would say it’s my favorite grain. It’s got such a wonderful texture and serves as a base for so many great other flavors.
Growing up Italian tabouli was not on our table so finding it later in life I immediately loved this healthy dish! I love how you mixed this with the endive and what a great tapas this would be to serve in this manner. As always your photos are just temptingly beautiful!
Yum! The photos look absolutely fantastic! I love how scoopable endive is! I think I might have to make this tonight!
For me it’s green pepper and tapioca…still won’t touch them, have no desire to give them another shot. BUT I’m with you on so many things…especially foods from some local ethnic markets that I’ve really enjoyed making. This looks fabulous; can you bring some over? :)