Tahra's Tabbouleh

Here's how I make tabouleah or however it's spelled. It's not really a Middle Eastern style because I don't chop the crap out of the parsley. It's a bit more chunky, with more couscous, so it's easier to eat with silver wear and I find more people like it this way. Also, I do this all by hand, I do not use my food processor because I don't want things to get too fine. I have to also put in a lot of notes here because this is just something I made up. It’s not a “real” recipe. Warning – it’s very yummy and filling, but does leave you with bad breath.

This lasts a week or a bit more in the fridge.

¼ c. olive oil
¼ c. lemon juice
1 clove garlic
A couple of twists of the pepper grinder and a dash or two of salt
1 medium bunch of parsley (just grab one of whatever they have at the store. If you are a huge parsley fan, add more).
1 medium cucumber
2-3 roma tomatoes
4 oz (half a regular block) of feta
1c cooked and cooled couscous (1 c water to a boil, add ¾ c couscous, cover, and let stand until done, then cool)
Optional: ½ (no more or it infuses way too much flavor!) shallot. You can easily skip this, or add a couple tsp of chives if you really want.

Parsley – cut off the big stems so you mostly just have leaves and their little stems. Chop.
Tomatoes – Remove the seeds and then dice. Roma (or Plum as they call them out here) are best for this – fewer seeds to flesh. Don’t leave the seeds in!!!
Feta – I dice this into small cubes. You can crumble it if you want, but make sure the pieces are small
Cucumber – peel and scoop out the seeds. Then dice.

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and (optional) ½ shallot in bowl. Add the rest as you chop it up. Stir, let sit for 15 min or more for the full flavor, and enjoy!