Serves 4-6

30g fine burghul
600g firm ripe tomatoes
50g spring onions, trimmed
400g flat-leaf parsley, most of the stalk removed
70g mint sprigs, leaves only
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp Lebanese 7-spices mixture (or ground allspice)
¼ tsp finely ground black pepper
Sea salt
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
150ml extra virgin olive oil
4 gem lettuce, washed and quartered

Rinse the burghul in several changes of cold water. Drain well and put into a bowl. While you prepare the other ingredients, stir the burghul with a fork every now and then to fluff it up.

Dice the tomatoes into small cubes, tip them in a bowl and set aside. Slice the spring onions into thin rounds. Don’t use a mezzaluna to chop the herbs as this will produce a ush. Instead, gather as much ass you can handle in a bunch and, with a razor-sharp knife, slice the binched herbas very thinly, as if you were shaving them, to produce nice, crisp thin strips. Tip the chopped herbs into a large bowl.

Drain the tomatoes and their juice and add them to the herbs. Add the spring onions and burghul. Season with the cinnamon, spice mix or allspice, pepper and salt to taste. Drizzle over the lemon juice and olive oil and toss well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, Serve with gem lettuce.

Note
Draining the diced tomatoes of their juice before adding them to the salad will make your tabbûlé quite crisp and keep it fresh for longer.

From Modern Mezze by Anissa Helou, Quadrille

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